AC Milan sacks Allegri as part of club overhaul
AC Milan parted ways with manager Massimiliano Allegri off the back of its failure to qualify for the 2026-2027 Champions League.
Milan finished fifth in Serie A after losing 2-1 at home to Cagliari in its final game of the campaign.
It entered matchday 38 in third place and would have returned to Europe's top table with a victory, but instead, Roma and Como both leapfrogged it into the top four.
With Juventus finishing sixth, next season will be the first edition of the Champions League since its 1992-1993 rebrand without both the Rossoneri and the Bianconeri.
The defeat capped a remarkable late-season collapse from Milan, which lost its opening match of the Serie A campaign but then did not taste defeat again until matchday 26, going down 1-0 to Parma on 22 February.
From that game onwards, it only won five of its final 13 matches, losing seven, while it was already out of the Coppa Italia before Christmas.
Milan's 70 points were the most it has ever earned in a Serie A season while finishing outside the top four (accounting for three points for a win all-time), but that was not enough to save Allegri.
Milan's ownership group, Redbird Capital Partners, announced that Allegri – along with chief executive Giorgio Furlani, sporting director Igli Tare and technical director Geoffrey Moncada – would be replaced as part of a major overhaul.
"After the disappointment of last year, the mandate ownership set for the club was to return to the Champions League and to establish a foundation for winning consistently at the top of Serie A," its statement read.
"For the majority of this season, we were in the top two positions in Serie A, with a credible shot at competing for the Scudetto.
"The final stretch was completely inconsistent with the performance up to that point, with last night's disappointing loss in the final game turning the season into an unequivocal failure.
"It is now time for change and a comprehensive reorganisation of football operations.
"Effective immediately, we are parting ways with CEO Giorgio Furlani, sporting director Igli Tare, head coach Massimiliano Allegri and technical director Geoffrey Moncada. We thank each one for their hard work and dedication to AC Milan during their respective tenures.
"Further announcements regarding the next appointments will be made in due course – with the goal to be ready and well-prepared for the next season."
It remains to be seen who will replace Allegri at San Siro, but he has been tipped as a contender for the Italy job, with ex-Napoli boss Antonio Conte also reportedly in the frame.
Allegri had only returned for a second stint in charge of Milan last May, having won the 2010-2011 Scudetto during his previous spell, between June 2010 and January 2014.
