Daniel Maldini

Daniel Maldini (born 11 October 2001) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Serie A club Atalanta and the Italy national team.

Daniel Maldini

Personal information
Date of birth	(2001-10-11) 11 October 2001 (age 23)
Place of birth	Milan, Italy
Height	1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)[1]
Position(s)	Attacking midfielder
Team information
Current team	Atalanta
Number	70
Youth career
2010–2020	AC Milan
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2020–2024	AC Milan	15	(1)
2022–2023	→ Spezia (loan)	18	(2)
2023–2024	→ Empoli (loan)	7	(0)
2024	→ Monza (loan)	11	(4)
2024–2025	Monza	20	(3)
2025–	Atalanta	0	(0)
International career‡
2019	Italy U18	2	(0)
2019	Italy U19	2	(0)
2021	Italy U20	3	(1)
2024–	Italy	2	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23:31, 27 January 2025 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 17 November 2024

Early life

Maldini was born in Milan, the second son of Paolo Maldini, the captain of AC Milan, and Venezuelan model Adriana Fossa.^[2] His grandfather Cesare also captained Milan in the 1960s, making him the third generation to make appearances for the club. His elder brother Christian played for Milan's youth teams and went on to play professionally at a lower level.

Club career

Youth career

Maldini joined Milan's youth system in 2010,^[3] and over the following years he came through the various age-group teams, from the under-10 Pulcini to the under-19 Primavera. In the 2016–17 season, he was part of the squad that won the Under-16 National Championship (Campionato Nazionale Under-16), defeating Lazio 5–2 in the final.^[4]

AC Milan

In July 2019, Maldini was called-up for the pre-season training with senior team by the newly appointed head coach Marco Giampaolo.^[5] On 23 July 2019, Maldini made his senior debut for AC Milan in the ICC friendly tournament, playing for nearly an hour in the starting line-up against Bayern Munich in Kansas City, Kansas.^[6][7]

On 2 February 2020, Maldini played his first competitive game with Milan in a 1–1 Serie A home draw against Hellas Verona, coming on as an added-time substitute for Samu Castillejo.^[8]

On 15 September 2021, Maldini came off the bench against Liverpool in a 3–2 defeat on his UEFA Champions League debut.^[9] On 25 September, Maldini started his first match for Milan in Serie A and scored the first goal in a 2–1 away win against Spezia.^[10]

On 22 May 2022, he won his first trophy, the Serie A championship, like his father, Paolo Maldini and grandfather, Cesare Maldini before him.^[11][12] Throughout the season, he did not break through into the starting lineup, playing only 239 minutes in 13 matches in the club's league-winning 2021–22 Serie A campaign.^[13]

Loan to Spezia

On 29 July 2022, fellow Serie A side Spezia announced Maldini had joined the club on a one-year loan from AC Milan.^[14]

On 5 November 2022, on his league debut as a starter with Spezia, Maldini scored his first Serie A goal of the season against his parent team, AC Milan.^[15] On 10 March 2023, he scored a goal in a 2–1 victory over Inter Milan, to be Spezia's first ever win against the latter.^[16][17]

Loan to Empoli

On 10 July 2023, fellow Serie A side Empoli announced the signing of Maldini on a one-year loan with an option to buy.^[18][19]

Monza

On 10th of January 2024, Milan sent Maldini on loan to fellow Serie A club Monza until the end of the 2023–24 season.^[20] He scored four goals in 11 league games. The deal was made permanent on 31 July 2024, with the player signing a two-year contract.^[21]

Atalanta

On 1 February 2025, Maldini moved permanently to Atalanta from Monza,^[22] for a reported transfer fee of €13m including performance-related bonuses.^[23]

International career

Maldini is eligible to represent either his native country Italy or Venezuela, the latter through his mother.^{[citation needed]} He debuted for Italy national under-18 football team in a 2–0 victory against the Netherlands on 22 March 2019.^[24] Later that year, Maldini earned two caps for the under-19.^[25] In 2021, he played three times for Italy under-20 and scored his first international goal in a 1–1 draw against England on 7 October 2021.^[26]

Maldini received his first call-up with the Italy national team for the 2024–25 UEFA Nations League matches against Belgium and Israel on 10 and 14 October 2024 respectively.^[27] He debuted against the latter opponent in a 4-1 victory, coming as a substitute at the 74th minute.^[28]

Style of play

Although in his very early days Maldini played as a defender like both his father Paolo and grandfather Cesare, he soon started to be employed in offensive roles. Today he mainly plays as a free roaming attacking midfielder, a position that suits his playmaking ability, dribbling skills, ball control, and vision.^[29]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 4 February 2025^[30]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			Coppa Italia		Europe		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
AC Milan	2019–20	Serie A	2	0	0	0	—		2	0
	2020–21	Serie A	5	0	0	0	4[a]	0	9	0
	2021–22	Serie A	8	1	2	0	3[b]	0	13	1
	Total		15	1	2	0	7	0	24	1
Spezia (loan)	2022–23	Serie A	18	2	2	1	—		20	3
Empoli (loan)	2023–24	Serie A	7	0	0	0	—		7	0
Monza (loan)	2023–24	Serie A	11	4	—		—		11	4
Monza	2024–25	Serie A	20	3	1	0	—		21	3
	Total		31	7	1	0	0	0	32	7
Atalanta	2024–25	Serie A	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	0
Career total			71	10	6	1	7	0	84	11

1. Appearances in UEFA Europa League
2. Appearances in UEFA Champions League

International

As of match played 17 November 2024^[31]

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Italy	2024	2	0
Total		2	0

Honours

AC Milan

• Serie A: 2021–22

References

1. "Daniel Maldini" (in Italian). Spezia Calcio. Retrieved 16 August 2022.
2. Speroni, Enrica (14 October 2005). ""Vi racconto i miei Maldini"" [«I will tell you about my Maldinis»]. La Gazzetta dello Sport (in Italian). Retrieved 4 February 2020.
3. "A.C. Milan - Pulcini 2001". Associazione Calcio Milan (in Italian). Archived from the original on 29 August 2010. Retrieved 4 February 2020.
4. "Under 16, il Milan è campione d'Italia: Roma ko 5-2" [Under-16, Milan are the Champions of Italy: Roma KO'd 5–2]. Sky Sport (in Italian). Sky Italia. 23 June 2017. Retrieved 4 February 2020.
5. "Milan, i 29 convocati per il ritiro: Ci sono Krunic e Hernandez".
6. "ICC - Bayern Monaco-Milan, le formazioni ufficiali". Milan News (in Italian). Retrieved 17 October 2024.
7. "Bayern 1-0 Milan (Jul 23, 2019) Lineups". ESPN. Retrieved 17 October 2024.
8. "AC Milan 1–1 Hellas Verona". BBC Sport. 2 February 2020. Retrieved 4 February 2020.
9. "Liverpool comeback sinks Milan in epic". BBC Sport. Retrieved 15 September 2021.
10. "Maldini on target in AC Milan win". BBC Sport. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
11. "Maldini: "Orgoglioso dei ragazzi. Io dirigente solo grazie al Milan"". gazzetta.it. gazzetta.it. 22 May 2022. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
12. "Serie A: il Milan è campione d'Italia". ansa.it. ansa.it. 22 May 2022. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
13. Giunchi, Giacomo (13 June 2022). "Saluta papà e Milan, Daniel Maldini stoppa la dinastia: colpo in Serie A". news.direttagoal.it. Retrieved 15 June 2022.
14. "Official | Daniel Maldini is a new Spezia player". Spezia Calcio. 29 July 2022. Retrieved 29 July 2022.
15. "Pazzesco Giroud all'89': il Milan batte 2-1 lo Spezia ed è secondo a -6 dal Napoli". gazzetta.it. gazzetta.it. 5 November 2022. Retrieved 6 November 2022.
16. Mackenzie, Alasdair (10 March 2023). "Spezia 2-1 Inter: Nerazzurri fall to shock defeat at relegation-threatened side after late drama". Eurosport.
17. "Daniel Maldini protagonist in Inter 2-1 defeat against Spezia". The Malta Independent. 11 March 2023.
18. "Daniel Maldini is a new Blue". Empoli FC (in Italian). 10 July 2023. Archived from the original on 1 October 2023. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
19. "Official Statement: Daniel Maldini". A.C. Milan (in Italian). 10 July 2023. Archived from the original on 20 January 2024. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
20. "DANIEL MALDINI È BIANCOROSSO" [DANIEL MALDINI IS RED AND WHITE] (in Italian). AC Monza. 10 January 2024. Archived from the original on 14 February 2024. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
21. "Bentornato Daniel Maldini - Associazione Calcio Monza S.p.A." (in Italian). AC Monza. 31 July 2024. Retrieved 31 July 2024.
22. "Calciomercato Serie A 2025, gli acquisti ufficiali". sport.sky.it. sport.sky.it. 1 February 2025. Retrieved 1 February 2025.
23. "Official: Daniel Maldini joins Atalanta from Monza for 13m". Yahoo Sports. 1 February 2025.
24. Daniel Maldini FIGC Italy U18 profile (in Italian)
25. Daniel Maldini FIGC Italy U19 profile (in Italian)
26. Daniel Maldini FIGC Italy U20 profile (in Italian)
27. "L'Italia riprende il cammino in Nations League: 23 convocati per le gare con Belgio e Israele, prima chiamata per Di Gregorio, Gabbia, Pisilli e Maldini". Italian Football Federation (in Italian). 4 October 2024. Retrieved 4 October 2024.
28. "Paolo Maldini's son Daniel makes Italy debut in win over Israel". Reuters. 15 October 2024. Retrieved 17 October 2024.
29. "Daniel Maldini". Football Talent Scout. Retrieved 4 February 2020.
30. Daniel Maldini at Soccerway. Retrieved 15 June 2022.
31. "Daniel Maldini". EU-Football.info. Retrieved 17 November 2024.

External links

• Daniel Maldini at TuttoCalciatori.net (in Italian)
• Daniel Maldini at Soccerway