Zlatan Ibrahimovic AC Milan 2019-20

Ibrahimovic deal will automatically renew if Milan make Champions League – Maldini

Zlatan Ibrahimovic has a clause in his AC Milan contract that will see him automatically renew his deal with the club for the 2020-21 season if Champions League qualification is secured.

The Swede arrived for a second spell at the San Siro club in January after a spell playing in MLS with the LA Galaxy and has returned three goals and an assist from nine appearances.

The fortunes of the club have improved notably since his return, with the only defeat they have suffered coming against Inter in the derby, a match in which they held a 2-0 advantage.

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This has been borne out by their league position, with the Rossoneri climbing from 11th to seventh following Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Fiorentina, a match in which Ibra scored a wonderful solo goal only to see it chalked off due to a VAR decision.

And should Milan continue their rise up the standings to secure a top-four finish and with it a path back to the Champions League, Ibrahimovic’s deal will automatically renew.

“There’s a six-month contract with an automatic renewal clause in case we reach the Champions League,” Milan technical director Paolo Maldini explained to Sky Sport Italia. “Otherwise, we’ll put ourselves round the table with him.

“With Ibra, there must always be an open dialogue and this exists, otherwise he would not have come in the first place.”

Meanwhile, Maldini, whose side are nine points shy of fourth-placed Atalanta, scotched rumours that Ralf Rangnick could replace Stefano Pioli as head coach of the Rossoneri.

“I’ve never contacted him and he’s not a suitable profile for our team according to my vision,” he said.

Nevertheless, he is not entirely happy with how things are going on the field.

“Unfortunately, we only get a point, as the game was under control and we played better than Fiorentina. But with the opposition down to 10 men we did not know how to deal with the situation,” he told DAZN, reflecting on Saturday’s match before becoming the latest in a long line of figures in Italy to hit out at VAR.

“It’s a little irritating, as in this case, VAR not calling the referee for that penalty incident was confusing. I was more certain two years ago on what was or wasn’t a penalty. If this is a penalty, then I really don’t know what’s going on nowadays,” he fumed.

Milan are not in action again until next Sunday, when they host Genoa.

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