Massimliano Mirabelli has confirmed his exit from Milan after only a year as the club’s sporting director.
Mirabelli arrived from Inter last summer and signed 11 players at a cost of over €200m in his first transfer window, but his position was made untenable by Milan’s failure to qualify for the Champions League and Elliott Management’s takeover.
“When the time comes to say ‘thank you’, it means something had begun and then ended,” he wrote in an open letter.
Massimliano Mirabelli has confirmed his exit from Milan after only a year as the club’s sporting director.
Mirabelli arrived from Inter last summer and signed 11 players at a cost of over €200m in his first transfer window, but his position was made untenable by Milan’s failure to qualify for the Champions League and Elliott Management’s takeover.
“When the time comes to say ‘thank you’, it means something had begun and then ended,” he wrote in an open letter.
“It’s never easy, especially when you think about your endless work, dedicated to a single and declared objective, the good of Milan.
“I would like to start from here, this huge world called Milan and the boundless passion that surrounds them.
“I’d like to start with you, the fans: your love, your anxieties and your dreams, your joys and fears, everything you’ve transmitted to me in these difficult but beautiful 15 months of work, of which I’m proud.
“I met you in the streets and cities where the Diavolo went to play. I felt your emotions and I was struck by the affection you showed me, with your banners and chants, and I still get emotional when I think back to that evening at the Olimpico after the defeat in the Coppa Italia Final to Juventus.
“We may have lost, but you won. I tried with all my strength to give you the best Milan possible because you milanisti deserve to return to the pinnacle of European and world football.
“You’ll bounce back, I’m sure. In these 15 months, we’ve made many signings and pulled off complicated renewals but also made a series of sales, which allowed the club to reduce their losses.
“This Milan, if you allow me to say, is a creature whom I feel to be very much mine. First of all, I want to say thank you to Mr. Gattuso, whom I strongly wanted to lead the team because he has brought us together.
“We fought and suffered together for every single ball, like we were in his style, and I wish him all the luck in the world because Rino deserves it all.
“I send a hug to the whole team and all Milan’s others, from Captain Bonucci to the youngest of Rossoneri talents, and all the best to Carolina Morace’s women, in their first season with Milan.
“I believed in all of them and tried to build a concrete and lasting project. I’m sure the Diavolo will have solid foundations and ambitious eyes.
“I must thank the staff of Mr. Gattuso and all of Milan’s employees, collaborators, consultants and scouts. With their work, they gave the strength and hope to so many lads.
“I thank all the journalists, my staff and those who believed in me and gave me this huge professional opportunity: working for Milan was an honour.
“Finally, thanks go out to my family. They offered an inexhaustible source of love, especially at the most difficult times. People pass, but Milan remain.”