AC Milan chief exec Ivan Gazidis insists he has a good relationship with coach Stefano Pioli.
Gazidis tried to replace Pioli last season with German coach Ralf Rangnick in a move which saw Zvonimir Boban sacked as football director for protesting the former Arsenal chief's move.
But he told Sky Italia: "Stefano is a very intelligent man, simple but profound. We understood, indeed he immediately understood that we are under pressure in this sport, Stefano came at the difficult moment and the impressive thing is that he never complained, with his work he simply tried to manage a big club. That's why I'm in love with him.
On Rangnick, Gazidis continued: "The decision has always been open, I've always told Stefano, and he understood. The choice must be made on sporting merit, that's it. The thing that surprised me a lot is Stefano's attitude, not just personal, but on the pitch. A modern approach, which embraces the young talents that we have brought to the club.
"Stefano uses analytics, data, uses videos a lot, he understands that now football is founded on the five-second transition. Inter, a year ago, we saw a way of playing that gives us great confidence: we lost the game, but we understood that Stefano could be the right choice."
