Daniel Maldini

Youth career

Maldini joined Milan's youth system in 2011, and over the following years he came through the various age-group teams, from the under-10 Pulcini to the under-19 Primavera. In the 2016–17 season, he was part of the squad that won the Under-16 National Championship (Campionato Nazionale Under-16), defeating Lazio 5–2 in the final.

AC Milan

In July 2019, Maldini was called up for pre-season training with senior team by the newly appointed head coach Marco Giampaolo. On 23 July 2019, Maldini made his senior debut for AC Milan in the ICC friendly tournament, playing for nearly an hour in the starting line-up against Bayern Munich in Kansas City, Kansas. On 2 February 2020, Maldini played his first competitive game with Milan in a 1–1 Serie A home draw against Hellas Verona, coming on as an added-time substitute for Samu Castillejo. On 15 September 2021, Maldini came off the bench against Liverpool in a 3–2 defeat on his UEFA Champions League debut. On 25 September, Maldini started his first match for Milan in Serie A and scored the first goal in a 2–1 away win against Spezia. On 22 May 2022, he won his first trophy, the Serie A championship, like his father, Paolo Maldini and grandfather, Cesare Maldini before him. Throughout the season, he did not break through into the starting lineup, playing only 239 minutes in 13 matches in the club's league-winning 2021–22 Serie A campaign.

Loan to Spezia

On 29 July 2022, fellow Serie A side Spezia…

Maldini is eligible to represent either his native country Italy or Venezuela, the latter through his mother. He debuted for Italy national under-18 football team in a 2–0 victory against the Netherlands on 22 March 2019. Later that year, Maldini earned two caps for the under-19. In 2021, he played three times for Italy under-20 and scored his first international goal in a 1–1 draw against England on 7 October 2021. Maldini received his first call-up with the Italy national team for the 2024–25 UEFA Nations League matches against Belgium and Israel on 10 and 14 October 2024 respectively. He debuted against the latter opponent in a 4-1 victory, coming as a substitute at the 74th minute.

Although in his very early days Maldini played as a defender like both his father Paolo and grandfather Cesare, he soon started to be employed in offensive roles. Today he mainly plays as a free roaming attacking midfielder, a position that suits his playmaking ability, dribbling skills, ball control, and vision.

Maldini was born in Milan, the second son of Paolo Maldini, the captain of AC Milan, and Venezuelan model Adriana Fossa. His grandfather Cesare also captained Milan in the 1960s, making him the third generation to make appearances for the club. His paternal family was of mixed Italian-Slovenian descent. His elder brother Christian played for Milan's youth teams and went on to play professionally at a lower level.