Rino Gattuso says he cannot see a place for women in soccer.
The comment was made after AC Milan chief executive Adriano Galliani agreed last week to share his role with Barbara Berlusconi, daughter of club president Silvio.
“For someone like Galliani there should be more respect,” Reuters reported Gattuso as telling Italy’s Radio Radio.
“I can’t really see women in football. I don’t like to say it but that’s how it is.”
Galliani tendered his resignation last week after hinting that the increased power being demanded by Barbara Berlusconi was undermining him.
He was convinced by the Rossoneri’s president to reverse his decision over the weekend.
The two-pronged managerial team have agreed that Galliani will take responsibility for sporting projects while Berlusconi will concentrate on marketing and social duties.
Gattuso, who won two Champions Leagues with Milan in 2003 and 2007, moved into management in 2013 with Swiss side Sion, with whom he ended his playing career. Sion sacked him in May and the 35-year-old was hired by Serie B side Palermo this fall but we sacked six weeks into the season.
The former AC Milan and Rangers midfielder is no stranger to controversy. He saw red multiple times in his career, including being sent off for slapping Zlatan Ibrahimovic in a 2003 Champions League match. He also found himself in hot water in a 2010 Champions League match at Tottenham when he grabbed coach Joe Jordan by the throat.