AC Milan's Setos Hotel, owned by the club itself, was the venue for the team's championship celebration.
Berlusconi had issued a clear-out order well in advance—Tonight, Setos Hotel was reserved exclusively for the AC Milan celebration.
By evening, the hotel was already buzzing.
Waiters moved through the halls, mingling with Italian FA officials, club executives, and first-team players, all gathering in the main hall.
Berlusconi, dressed to the nines, stood on the stage holding a wine glass, delivering an impassioned speech.
"All leaders are like this," Suker muttered under his breath.
It had been the same during his time at Dinamo Zagreb, and it remained the same after joining AC Milan.
Still, that's the joy of leadership—Moments like these just have to come with a speech.
Berlusconi was clearly in high spirits.
He hadn't even finished his speech before downing an entire glass of red wine and continuing on.
Midway through, he even shouted out Suker, earning a wave of applause.
Suker smiled and waved it off—thankfully, Berlusconi didn't ask him to come up and speak.
As the applause faded, Suker turned to Maldini, standing beside him in a formal suit.
Maldini was the only AC Milan player who had dressed formally for the occasion.
"Captain, what's with the outfit?" Suker asked.
Maldini scratched his head.
"Gotta do a bit of networking later."
He had already made it clear that next season would be his last.
After retirement, Maldini would likely join the club's management, staying in football, just not as a player.
The transition from player to executive wasn't easy.
Maldini still struggled to adjust.
But Berlusconi strongly supported him, so Maldini wasn't under too much pressure.
Ten minutes later, Berlusconi's long speech finally ended.
"Let's go!"
Pirlo and Gattuso dragged Suker and the rest of the players toward a private celebration hall.
Maldini waved at them but didn't join.
Not long after, Berlusconi walked up, patted Maldini on the shoulder, and said with a grin:
"Come on, I'll introduce you to a few people."
Maldini was not only a great player but a legendary leader.
But in networking environments like this, he still felt awkward and inexperienced.
He had thoughts he wanted to express, but struggled to phrase them properly.
Still, the FA officials and Milan execs were respectful—The social round went smoothly.
Afterward, Berlusconi, Maldini, and Vice Chairman Galliani headed into a private VIP room.
Just the three of them.
"How do you feel?" Berlusconi asked, smiling from the head seat.
Maldini loosened his tie and gave a bitter smile.
"Still not used to it."
"Everyone starts that way. Management is a whole different world from playing. Take your time." Berlusconi encouraged him.
He believed Maldini would thrive at Milan thanks to his stature and respect in the club.
"In management, you can't act on emotion," Galliani added.
"And especially—never use your fists. In this world, raising a hand means you've already lost."
Maldini frowned.
Galliani, Milan's Vice Chairman and Berlusconi's right-hand man, had long clashed with Maldini.
Even though Maldini had status in Milan, not everyone liked him—Galliani being one of them.
"Whether I can do the job or not… is none of your business," Maldini snapped back.
Galliani scowled, but before he could retort, Berlusconi stepped in to defuse the tension.
"Alright, alright. Paolo's still new to this. He needs your patience, not criticism."
Then he turned to Maldini.
"And you too—Galliani's right. Management requires a different mindset. You'll need to shift your perspective."
Maldini nodded—he still respected Berlusconi.
"By the way," Maldini suddenly said, "I think we need to make some changes now that the season's over."
"Oh?" Berlusconi raised an eyebrow.
Galliani remained tense.
"What do you propose?" Berlusconi asked kindly.
Maldini glanced at Galliani and coughed lightly.
"I think we need to increase Suker's salary and renew his contract—lock him into Milan for the long term."
The room fell silent.
Berlusconi said nothing.
Galliani suddenly snapped:
"No! A new contract is fine—but no raise! He's already earning the top salary in Serie A!"
"Top salary isn't enough!" Maldini shot back."Suker's current performance is well beyond what he's paid. He's the Golden Boot in both the Champions League and Serie A! Future Ballon d'Or and FIFA Best Player… if all that can't justify a raise, what can?"
"Those awards are earned with Milan's support—we're the ones promoting him. So there's no need to pay more," Galliani retorted. "You need to grow up and stop being so naive."
"Naive?" Maldini barked."You think I'm naive for wanting to keep our star player? Money is the only thing that can bind Suker to Milan. What else is there?"
"We can offer him everything except money," Galliani said coldly.
"You're making this personal!" Maldini shouted. "This is about me joining management too early, isn't it? Fine—we have our differences. But don't drag Suker into it. Don't hurt Milan's interests!"
"Who's hurting Milan's interests? You think it's that simple?"
"Yes, I do. If we can't pay Suker what he deserves—he'll leave. I'm telling you now, he really will!"
Maldini pointed at Galliani in fury.
"You'll be the sinner who drove him away!"
"Enough!" Berlusconi suddenly roared.
Both men fell silent.
Berlusconi's face was grim, but after taking a deep breath, his expression softened.
"I'm going to get a better bottle of wine. This one tastes awful."
He left the room.
Once alone again, Maldini continued glaring.
Galliani, clearly troubled, rubbed his temples, then downed his glass of wine and spoke solemnly.
"Paolo, we really need to talk."
"Damn right we do," Maldini replied, still annoyed.
After a moment of tension, Galliani finally sighed.
"Okay, fine. I'll be honest—I don't like you. But not as a person. As Milan's captain and leader, you've done a great job. Your loyalty is admirable—even I respect that."
"But the problem is—we don't communicate.
You created that so-called 'Knights' Table', and it's been interfering with our transfers. That's caused real issues."
"I know you're upset we sold Albertini back then. You all took it out on Pirlo for a while. But now tell me—has Pirlo really been that bad?"
Maldini was momentarily speechless.
Back then, when Ancelotti and Galliani forced out Albertini and pushed Pirlo into the starting lineup, the squad was outraged.
"And there's another problem—do you even understand the club's financial state?"
"Last season, we suffered massive losses. Much worse than you imagine. The chairman had to pay from his own pocket to cover them."
"But… we were Champions League winners!" Maldini exclaimed.
"And 'Calciopoli' tanked our stock value. Did you forget about that?"
Maldini fell silent again.
"There's a massive financial hole. The chairman is happy tonight because we won the double—but we're still facing many problems."
"That's why I said no to the raise. Not because I don't value Suker—but because we literally can't afford it."
"You shouldn't have said all that in front of the chairman. Even the money behind Suker's Ballon d'Or and FIFA Best campaigns—that came from the chairman's own pocket."
Galliani sighed.
"He's losing money—a lot of it."
Maldini was stunned.
"It's… that bad?"
"You'll see after you retire," Galliani muttered, rubbing his head.
"Why do you think Milan isn't making big signings? Part of it is losing market appeal—but the other part is simple: no money."
"Milan is on the decline. We all need to start being more frugal."