AC Milan coach Paulo Fonseca is done with the Rossoneri after they drew 1-1 at San Siro on Sunday against AS Roma. The Italiam clin announced the firing of the Portuguese manager on Monday. After a challenging start to the season as AC Milan are currently eighth in the standings with 27 points after 17 Serie A games. Former Porto manager Sergio Conceicao is expected to replace him, according to multiple reports.
AC Milan announced their decision in a statement a day after Fonseca himself broke the news. “AC Milan announces that Paulo Fonseca has been relieved from his duties as Head Coach of the Men’s First Team. The Club extends its gratitude to Paulo for his great professionalism and wishes him the very best in his future endeavors.”
Before the statement issued by the club, Fonseca himself told journalists outside San Siro he was about to be sacked. “Yes, I’ve left Milan. This is life, it goes like this. I have a good conscience, I did all I could do”, he said before either the club or the directors had spoken to the press after the game.
Conceicao reportedly agreed to join AC Milan before the AS Roma game, but the decision was postponed until now. Among the reasons for the sacking, Fonseca has had issues over the past weeks with some of the key players on his roster, including winger Rafael Leao and club captain Theo Hernandez, per reports.
The former FC Porto manager will take charge of AC Milan and will coach his first game against Juventus and his son Francisco on Friday in the semifinal of the Supercoppa Italiana. Conceicao is expected to sign a deal until the end of the season with an option to extend his deal and he is likely to sign his deal before the Rossoneri travel to Saudi Arabia for the Supercoppa Italiana.
Fonseca’s short cycle at AC Milan had some ups, including the win at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu against Real Madrid, and also some negative moments as the fans are now putting pressure on American businessman and Rossoneri owner Gerry Cardinale. The decision to sack Fonseca is only the latest in a series of reversals from what the club planned before the start of the 2024-25 season. It’s now up to Conceicao to turn things around, but it’s difficult to imagine that things can drastically change only with the appointment of a new head coach, not to mention, also needing American Christian Pulisic to recover from his latest injury.
