According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, Maldini has now found his footing at Cagliari.

Maldini's career began in Milan's youth academy, following in the footsteps of his father, Paolo. Since then, he has been loaned out several times and called up to the Italian national team. Now in Sardinia, Daniel appears to have found the right direction for his development.

Oscar Wilde once wrote about "the importance of being earnest." In other words, we might also speak of the weight of bearing the Maldini name. After all, being "someone's son" has never been easy, and having to pursue, or even surpass, a famous father in the same field is a considerable burden. Such examples are not rare—consider the great long jumper Larissa Iapichino, whose mother Fiona May was also an accomplished long jumper; or Ken Griffey and Ken Griffey Jr. in American baseball. More often, however, young people are weighed down by their surname; think of Michael Jordan's descendants, or LeBron's eldest son Bronny. Maldini is forging his own path in Italian football, since it is almost impossible to do better than his father Paolo. Below is a look back at his still-developing career. He will not turn 27 this year; his 27th birthday will be on October 11.

Maldini came through Milan's youth academy and made his senior debut on February 2, 2020. At 18, he came on as a substitute for Samu Castillejo in a match against Verona, which ended 1-1. On September 15, 2021, he made his Champions League debut, 33 years after his father and 66 years after his grandfather. In that match, Milan lost to Liverpool 3-2 at Anfield. Ten days later, he started his first Serie A match away to Spezia and scored with a header—his first professional goal for Milan. In 2022, he won the Serie A title with the club, becoming the third Maldini to win the Serie A title with Milan.

Spezia was clearly an important milestone in Maldini's career. In the summer of 2022, Milan loaned him to the Ligurian club. On November 5, he scored against Milan, with the match ending 2-1 in Milan's favor. On March 10, 2023, he scored again, this time against Inter Milan at the Alberto Picco stadium, "evening the score" in a sense.

His time in Tuscany did not last long. In July 2023, he joined the local club on loan from Milan. On October 30, he made his debut as a substitute for Matteo Cancellieri, with the team losing to Atalanta 3-0.

In January 2024, he was loaned to Monza and then permanently transferred that summer. Due to injury issues, he played for only six months but still scored three goals.

In February 2025, Atalanta officially signed him for 14 million euros. In the final home match of the season against Parma, he scored his first Serie A brace. Maldini scored twice in three minutes, helping Atalanta take a 2-0 lead at one point, but the team ultimately lost 3-2.

In January 2026, he was loaned to Lazio. During his time at Lazio, he made 12 appearances and scored 2 goals.

After returning to Bergamo, he was loaned to Cagliari with an option to buy, which could become mandatory under certain conditions. On September 7, he scored the decisive goal at home against Lecce, and in the next round against Atalanta, he converted a penalty to help Cagliari win 2-1 at Unipol Domus.

After completing all youth development programs, Maldini was called up to the Italian national team for the first time in October 2024. Spalletti included him in the squad for the Nations League matches against Belgium and Israel. On October 14, 2024, he made his senior international debut against Israel at the Friuli stadium in Udine, coming on as a substitute for Raspadori at age 23, becoming the third Maldini to wear the Italian national team jersey, after his grandfather Cesare and his father Paolo.

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