MILAN, ITALY – MARCH 8: AC Milan senior advisor Zlatan Ibrahimovic watches before the Serie A match between AC Milan and FC Internazionale at Giuseppe Meazza Stadium on March 8, 2026 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Marco Ruzzani/Getty Images)
In what looks to be a crucial few days for Milan as they continue to negotiate with several candidates for the vacant head coach, sporting director and technical director roles, owner Jerry Cardinale and advisor Zlatan Ibrahimovic were all smiles as they attended the UFC Freedom 250 event on the White House lawn over the weekend.
Milan in search of new head coach and manager
Milan will need to appoint a brand new senior management team after sacking manager Massimiliano Allegri, sporting director Igli Tare, technical director Geoffrey Moncada and CEO Giorgio Furlani the day after the 2025-26 season ended.
Several candidates have been linked with various managerial positions at the San Siro, but as of mid-June, no offers had yet been made.
Milan are reportedly in talks with Ralf Rangnick, who will become the club’s technical director, and if he takes over, they will seek to replace Oliver Glasner, who is retiring as head coach at Crystal Palace, as Allegri’s successor.
However, Rangnick wanted full control over decision-making and wanted to introduce his own staff across the club. Importantly, Rangnick also wanted to end his contract with Milan before the start of the 2026 World Cup, but that did not happen and now the former Red Bull and Manchester United manager has extended his contract with the Austrian national team instead.
With Rangnick out of Milan, Glasner is also thought to be out of the running as Rossoneri manager.
Instead, the new front-runner to take over the Rossoneri dugout is former Manchester United and Sporting CP coach Ruben Amorim.
According to information on Monday reportMilan owner Jerry Cardinale has directly offered the Portuguese tactician a two-year contract with an annual salary of 3.5 million euros. The offer will also include bonuses related to Champions League qualification.
Meanwhile, Milan are also aiming to appoint Markus Krochet as the club’s new technical director. The German is currently at Eintracht Frankfurt and it is not expected that life will become easier for the Rossoneri if they try to lure the 45-year-old away from Deutsche Bank Park.
Frankfurt’s sporting director Timo Khaldun is also expected to accompany Krochet to the role.
It’s a busy time for the Rossoneri, who have very few international players remaining at the Italian ground. Meanwhile, owner Jerry Cardinale and prominent senior adviser Ibrahimovic remain in the United States.
Although Ibrahimovic is not directly employed by the club itself, there has often been confusion about the scope of Ibrahimovic’s powers at Milan, given his close relationship with the owners. Much has also been said about the Swede’s decision to take up a pundit role on Fox Sports during the 2026 World Cup, while continuing to put in a lot of personal effort at such an important time for Milan.
Ibrahimovic and Cardinale’s most recent bout was at UFC Freedom 250, an event held on the White House lawn ahead of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence on Sunday.
Everyone is smiling in America, but the work has to be done back in my hometown of Milan.
Jerry Cardinale and Zlatan Ibrahimovic attend all UFC Della Notte Italiana Casa Bianca events.
Please support President Donald Trump.
📸DAZN#milanpress pic.twitter.com/iahPLi9rKo
— MilanPress.it (@MilanPress_it) June 15, 2026
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