Report Milan hoped for Champions League failure, Ibrahimovic-Allegri fight

There are two extraordinary reports about the chaos at Milan in the final days, including Igli Tare physically separating Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Max Allegri, but also hoping for Champions League failure.

It had been suggested before that there was a lot of tension behind the scenes between coach Allegri and RedBird special advisor Ibrahimovic, but the Corriere della Sera newspaper insists it was even more than previously thought.

The newspaper claims that the pair got into a physical altercation at a restaurant, with CEO Giorgio Furlani present, and they had to be separated by director of sport Tare.

An even more concerning report in the same paper suggests that when Alexis Saelemaekers scored the opening goal a couple of minutes into that final Serie A match of the season against Cagliari, the only member of the directorial team celebrating in the stands was Tare.

It is implied by the source that this is because the other directors knew that Champions League qualification would make it more difficult and costly to fire both coach Allegri and director of sport Tare.

As it happens, Milan lost the match 2-1, failed to reach the top four, and fired Allegri, Tare, Furlani and technical director Geoffrey Moncada in one fell swoop, keeping only Ibrahimovic.

Apart from a brief late appearance from Moncada, the only figure here who was part of the summit with patron Gerry Cardinale in the hours before the game was Ibrahimovic.