Paolo Maldini has broken his silence on one of the shortest and most turbulent chapters of his career away from the pitch. The legendary AC Milan captain revealed new details about his time with the Italian Football Federation, explained why he ultimately walked away from the project, and confirmed that Pep Guardiola came much closer to becoming Italy's head coach than many might have imagined.

In an interview with Corriere della Sera, Maldini revealed that talks with the then-Manchester City manager progressed to the point where they began discussing football, players, and even potential lineups.

It was much more than simply a phone call to determine his availability.

Maldini and Leonardo had been tasked with building a new project for Italian football and believed Guardiola could be the ideal figure to lead a transformation that would not only involve the senior national team but also the country's youth sides.

Guardiola Came Very Close to Italy

The interest eventually led to a meeting in Barcelona, where they began analyzing the different Italian national teams, starting with the Under-17 side.

According to Maldini, Guardiola became so involved in the conversation that he even began writing down potential lineups.

Money apparently wasn't the problem, either. In fact, Maldini revealed a remarkable comment from Guardiola that showed just how willing he was to take on the challenge.

"Give me one euro less than what the previous coach was earning and I'm ready," Pep reportedly said during the talks.

For Maldini, that made it clear that finances were not the obstacle. Guardiola was even willing to earn slightly less than the previous national team coach in order to take charge of the project. The negotiations, therefore, had gone far beyond a simple exploratory conversation.

What ultimately stopped the move was personal.

After an extremely demanding decade in the Premier League, along with physical issues that eventually required back surgery, Guardiola felt he needed to stop and rest before taking on another challenge of that magnitude.

For Italy, his arrival would have represented a major change. The project envisioned by Maldini and Leonardo aimed to create a common footballing identity from the youth levels all the way to the senior national team, with a greater emphasis on technical quality, attacking football, and one-on-one ability.

Pirlo Was Maldini's Plan

Once the possibility of hiring Guardiola was ruled out, Maldini had another name clearly in mind: Andrea Pirlo.

The former Italian captain was convinced that his old teammate had the qualities needed to begin the new cycle, despite questions surrounding his experience as a coach.

Maldini defended that position by using Lionel Scaloni and Luis de la Fuente as examples, questioning how much weight should really be placed on the previous résumés of coaches who went on to win a FIFA World Cup.

In his eyes, Pirlo was ready.

Other names, including Daniele De Rossi and Fabio Grosso, had also been considered as part of an idea centered around young coaches with attacking philosophies and a strong understanding of Italian football. Thiago Motta, Maldini clarified, was never seriously among his candidates.

The issue surrounding Pirlo eventually went beyond football.

His commercial relationship with a Russian betting company generated controversy in Italy. Maldini, however, maintains that there was no legal obstacle preventing his appointment and that the coach was even prepared to end that relationship in order to take charge of the national team.

The Break With Malagò That Ended Everything

That is where the real problem began.

When Maldini joined the Federation alongside Leonardo, the project called for the sporting leadership to have a decisive role in selecting the new head coach and rebuilding the entire football structure.

The Federation itself had announced his arrival on July 11 as technical director and president of Club Italia, while Leonardo was set to serve as an advisor. The idea was to develop a four-year project aimed at returning Italy to the biggest stages in international football.

But the situation changed when president Giovanni Malagò decided not to move forward with Pirlo's candidacy.

For Maldini, that meant the conditions under which he had accepted the position were no longer the same.

As a result, he and Leonardo decided to leave only a few weeks after beginning their adventure.

The legendary defender explained that the trust required to continue working was no longer there and defended his position: if protecting the responsibilities he had been given meant being considered uncompromising, he was willing to accept that label.

The entire story ultimately left an even greater sense of what might have been.

Maldini and Leonardo arrived with the intention of rebuilding Italian football from the ground up. Guardiola was on the table and went as far as imagining potential teams; then Pirlo emerged as the man chosen to continue the project.

In the end, neither of them reached the bench, and Maldini was gone as well.

A project designed to transform Italy through 2030 barely survived a few weeks.

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