Maldini signs new two-year director deal with AC Milan

Paolo Maldini will stay on as AC Milan's technical director after signing a new two-year contract, the Serie A champions announced on Friday.

Milan icon Maldini's new deal means that the seven-time European champions will keep the duo who built their Scudetto-winning side.

Maldini worked alongside sporting director Frederic Massara, who has also signed a two-year extension, to take Milan from the doldrums to the top of the Italian game.

"This deal highlights the importance of continuity we see throughout the club as we continue to strengthen and grow," Milan said in a statement.

The 54-year-old confirmed late last night that he had signed an extension after weeks of delays which almost led to Milan starting the summer transfer window -- which opened in Italy on Friday -- without their key men.

He has been critical in Milan signing some of their most important players, one such example being a now-famous meeting in Ibiza which was crucial to bringing Theo Hernandez to the club in 2019.

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France left-back Hernandez was a stand-out player in last season's surprise title win.

Maldini is one of the greatest players in Milan's history, winning a raft of trophies over a quarter of a century passed entirely with his boyhood club.

He played over 900 times for Milan, winning the European Cup or Champions League five times and claiming seven Serie A titles before retiring in 2009.

That success was not replicated in an Italy jersey despite earning 126 caps, losing in the 1994 World Cup and Euro 2000 finals.

Last month Milan announced that current owners, investment fund Elliott Management, had agreed to sell the club to rival US fund RedBird for 1.2 billion euros ($1.3 billion).

Milan said that the sale of the club will be completed no later than September.