Paolo Maldini

1978–1987: Youth career, AC Milan senior debut and early professional career

In 1978, at the age of 10, Maldini had his first tryout for AC Milan youth academy. Before that, he had only played street football. He successfully played the test game as a right midfielder or winger in the 4–4–2 formation and was accepted into his age group's squad. He would continue playing in this position until the age of 14, when he was moved to right full-back. Due to him being good on the ball with both of his feet, he would sometimes be fielded on the left side as well. Maldini won the Coppa Italia Primavera with the Milan Youth side during the 1984–85 season, and he made his league debut for Milan under manager Nils Liedholm during the same season on 20 January 1985, replacing the injured Sergio Battistini in a match against Udinese at age 16. It was his only league appearance of the campaign, but he was immediately made a member of the starting eleven the following season, at age 17, at right-back, being handed the number 3 shirt, which had previously also belonged to his father, Cesare. Maldini also made his Coppa Italia debut in 1985, on 21 August, while his debut in European competition also came later that same year, on 18 September. He scored the first of his 29 goals in Serie A on 4 January 1987 in a 1–0 win against Como.

1987–1991: Domestic and international success with The immortals

The 1987–88 Scudetto under Arrigo Sacchi marked Maldini's first trophy, and the…

Early career and 1990 World Cup

In 1986, Maldini was called up by his father Cesare Maldini to the Italian under-21 national team, and made his debut for the team on 12 November of that year, in a 0–0 draw against Austria; he earned 12 caps and scored five goals in two years with the azzurrini, with his first goal coming on 11 February 1987, in a 2–1 win against Portugal. Maldini was also member of the under-21 team that finished runners-up to Spain in the 1986 UEFA European Under-21 Championship. Two years later, he also featured for the under-21 team that was eliminated in the first round against eventual winners France in the 1988 UEFA European Under-21 Championship. Maldini made his senior debut for the Italy senior team at age 19 on 31 March 1988 in a 1–1 friendly draw against Yugoslavia in Split, and made one appearance for the Italy Olympic squad on 28 October 1987, although he was not part of the team that finished in fourth place at the 1988 Olympics. Maldini featured in all four of Italy's games at UEFA Euro 1988, where they reached the semi-finals, losing to the Soviet Union. In the opening match of the tournament on 10 June, a 1–1 draw against hosts West Germany, he became the youngest player ever to feature for Italy at the UEFA European Championship, at the age of 19 years and 350 days. Maldini participated in his first World Cup in 1990 on home soil, appearing in all seven Italy matches. He helped Italy to win five consecutive games and was a starting…

In August 2018, a few weeks after Milan's changed their ownership to Elliott Management Corporation, Maldini accepted an offer to become the sporting director for the club. This marked his comeback to the club since his retirement from professional football. On 14 June 2019, Maldini was promoted to technical director. Milan won the 2021–22 Serie A title, the first title since 2011, with Maldini helping sign a number of key players for the victorious squad, namely Théo Hernandez, Pierre Kalulu, Rafael Leão, Olivier Giroud, Fikayo Tomori, and Mike Maignan, the latter of which was named the Best Goalkeeper of the 2021–22 season. In addition, Leão was awarded the MVP of the season. On 1 July 2022, one day after Maldini's contract expired, it was announced that he would remain Milan's technical director for two more years. On 17 November 2022, he was recognised as Sporting Director of the Year alongside fellow Milan director Frederic Massara at the 2022 Globe Soccer Awards. On 6 June 2023, Milan terminated his contract. On 11 July 2026, the Italian Football Federation announced that Maldini had accepted the position of technical director of the Italy national team. On 27 July, just 16 days after becoming technical director, Maldini resigned from his position following the Italian Football Federation's decision to reject the appointment of Andrea Pirlo as the new Italy manager citing links to being brand ambassador to a Russian betting company.

Maldini was born on 26 June 1968 in Milan to Cesare Maldini and Marisa Luisa De Mezzi. His paternal family was of mixed Italian-Slovenian descent. He has five siblings. In December 1994, he married Venezuelan former model Adriana Fossa. The couple have two sons, Christian (born 14 June 1996) and Daniel (born 11 October 2001), who both played for AC Milan's youth teams. His father Cesare played as a defender and also captained Milan and the Italy national team. Cesare then became a coach and coached his son in the Italy under-21 side, the Italy senior team, and the Milan senior team. On 3 April 2016, his father Cesare died at the age of 84; and his mother Marisa died on 28 July 2016. Maldini and his former teammate Christian Vieri run a fashion brand named Sweet Years. Maldini is a Roman Catholic.