Paulo Fonseca is officially the new coach of Milan. Zlatan Ibrahimovic announced this during his first press conference as manager, in a lengthy interview in which he addressed various topics. Despite the general skepticism and open opposition from some of the Rossoneri fans, the Portuguese coach lands on the bench that belonged to Stefano Pioli.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s announcement
The arrival of Paulo Fonseca at Milan completes the alignment of the cards on the hottest benches in Serie A, after the latest official announcements of Vincenzo Italiano at Bologna, Thiago Motta at Juventus, Marco Baroni and Antonio Conte at Napoli.
“I am proud to be the new manager of Milan and I will work to honor this club and its great history. Together we want to excel and write a new chapter of success that we hope to celebrate with our extraordinary fans. Forza Milan!”, he declared through the channels of his new club, the ex-Roma technicianamong the teams he has coached in his career, and arriving from Lille.
The hiring was anticipated by Zlatan Ibrahimovic in a presentation conference for the 2023/2024 season, in which he answered questions about the choice of coach.
“First of all I want to thank Stefano Pioli – began the former Swedish champion, now manager of Milan – I had him first as a player, then as a manager. What he did remains in history. The new coach will be Paulo Fonseca. We studied his profile well, we lined up our needs and we chose him. We did it based on the players we have and what we ask of the team: attacking and dominant football. Something new was needed after five years. He is the right man, we are very confident and we believe in him a lot.”
“We talk to each other every day, we share ideas and strategies – revealed Ibrahimovic – He has his desires, we also have an Under 23 project in which he will be very important, because he is someone who knows how to give chances and responsibility to young people. He will need a competitive team to put him in the best possible conditions” said the former Rossoneri center forward, promising that “Maignan, Leao and Theo remain, are among the strongest in their role. We don’t need to sell to buy.”
“We studied Fonseca’s identity and approach to the game a lot. When we spoke to him face to face he convinced us of his ambition and his desire to win. At Milan there is a coach, not a manager. Conte, with all due respect to a great coach like him, was not what we were looking for” Ibrahimovic said again when answering questions about the decision not to focus on an international level coach like the former Juventus player.
Paulo Fonseca at Milan: how much the coach earns
The Rossoneri club later confirmed the deal in a statement: “AC Milan announces that it has entrusted the technical management of the men’s first team to Paulo Fonseca – we read – The Portuguese coach now joins Milan on a three-year contract. The Club extends a warm welcome to Paulo and his collaborators.”
The club and the Rossoneri coach have agreed on a contract until 2027 at 2.5 million eurosfigures lower than the 3.5 million per year received by the new Juventus coach, Thiago Motta, and even more distant from the 6.5 million per season obtained by Antonio Conte to lead Napoli, which with the bonuses could even reach around 10 millions.
