Daniel Maldini: From Match-Winner to Legal Trouble
Daniel Maldini’s night of glory lasted only a few hours.
On the pitch in Bergamo, he was the match-winner: a cool, decisive penalty to seal Cagliari’s 2-1 victory over Atalanta, a vital result in their fight for safety and another step in the career of a 24-year-old trying to build his own name under the shadow of Paolo Maldini.
By dawn in Milan, that narrative had been ripped apart.
From penalty hero to police case
At around 5.15am on Sunday, Maldini’s Porsche Carrera collided with another vehicle in Milan. The impact left six people with minor injuries, among them the Cagliari forward himself. He was taken to hospital for checks and discharged later the same day.
The sporting headlines quickly gave way to police reports.
Local police sources quoted by Reuters said the first alcohol test carried out at the scene showed a blood alcohol level of 0.91 grams per litre. A second test registered 0.89 grams per litre. The legal limit in Italy is 0.5.
Almost double. No margin for interpretation.
His driving licence was suspended on the spot after the positive test. He also underwent a drug test, which Cagliari confirmed on Monday had come back completely negative. The club added that Maldini would return to training as normal as they prepare for their upcoming fixtures.
The official toxicology results from the police are expected within three to four days, according to a security source cited by Reuters, but the alcohol readings already place the player at the centre of a serious legal and ethical storm.
A rising career under a heavier shadow
Until the crash, the story of Daniel Maldini’s weekend was a simple football tale: a talented attacker, once of Milan, Atalanta and Lazio, now at Cagliari, deciding a tight Serie A match with the composure of a veteran. A player with six caps for Italy, trying to carve out his own identity while carrying one of the most famous surnames in the sport.
That legacy now feels even weightier.
The incident in Milan does not erase the goal in Bergamo, but it reframes it. The image of Maldini celebrating a precious win for Cagliari sits uneasily alongside the details of a high-speed collision in the early hours, a failed alcohol test and a suspended licence.
For club and player alike, the questions no longer concern only form, tactics or selection. They concern responsibility, judgment and how a career that seemed to be gathering momentum responds to a night that changed the conversation around Daniel Maldini in a matter of hours.
