AC Milan chief exec Giorgio Furlani has defended the dismissals of football directors Paolo Maldini and Ricky Massara.

The pair were sacked by owner Gerry Cardinale on Monday.

Furlani remarked to La Gazzetta dello Sport: "First and foremost I want to say thank you to Paolo and Ricky and express my gratitude to all the collaborators of Milan for their relevant contribution to the Club in these years.

“Paolo was among the greatest ever players and as a director, along with Ricky, he played an important role in securing our 19th Scudetto. We are sad to see them leave.

“In our club we are constantly analysing the best strategies and models to guarantee that Milan could continue progressing both on and off the field, to compete with the teams who are leaders in Europe.

“The first fundamental element, as I always repeat, is and will remain football. It is with this objective that we decided on an organisational reset that will lead to the creation of a working group for the technical/sporting side of things."

Furlani also said: “Our priority now is to consolidate and reinforce the progress made in recent years, in all areas of the club. Our ambition has not changed, if anything it has been fortified: to be competitive at the top of European football.

“We are on the right track, but there is still a lot of work to be done. I hope that our marvellous fans can maintain their intact and constant support for the club, and I personally hope to soon interact with our fans, so they can understand our strategy, to continue seeing Milan grow together."