Home » Paulo Fonseca takes over as AC Milan manager

Paulo Fonseca takes over as AC Milan manager

AC Milan officially announced the hiring of Paulo Fonseca as the club’s new manager on a three-year contract.

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AC Milan hires Fonseca as manager

Fonseca, 51, replaced Stefano Pioli, who led Milan to a second-place finish in Serie A last season.

“I am proud to take on the role of AC Milan manager and I will work to honour this club and its great history,” Fonseca said in a statement.

“Together, we will strive for excellence and to write a new chapter of successes that I hope can be celebrated with our extraordinary fans. Forza Milan!”

Zlatan Ibrahomovic approves Fonseca’s hiring

Fonseca guided Lille to a fourth-placed finish in Ligue 1 in the 2023-24 season.

The Portuguese manager had stints at his hometown club Pacos de Ferreira, Porto, and Braga before enjoying success at Shakhtar Donetsk and Roma.

On the other hand, Pioli was relieved off his managerial duty last month.

Milan legend Zlatan Ibrahimovic spoke about Fonseca’s appointment on Thursday, while also thanking Pioli for his service.

“I want to say thanks to Pioli, what he did will remain in history… We studied [Fonseca] a lot. He meets all the criteria we are looking for,” said the club’s senior advisor. “We chose him to impart his identity onto the players we have and how we want the team to play. After 5 years we wanted to bring something new to the players.”

“We considered coaches on the basis of their playing style and approach to the game. When we spoke face to face with Fonseca, it was clear that he is very ambitious and has a great desire to do well.”

“At Milan we have a coach, not a manager,” Ibrahimović added when asked about other options who were considered. “[Antonio] Conte? With the criteria we had, that’s not what we were looking for.”