In the final weeks of the 2008-09 Serie A season, it became clear that a number of superstars were going to leave Italian football.
Sunday, the last day of the season, was marked by farewells as three footballing greats, namely Paolo Maldini, Pavel Nedved and Luis Figo, hung up their boots.
In the meantime, Carlo Ancelotti's eight-year reign as Milan coach came to an end with the Rossoneri appointing Leonardo as their new boss.
Ancelotti won eight major trophies, including a scudetto, two Champions Leagues and the FIFA Club World Cup, during his time in charge of Milan.
On Monday, Ancelotti was unveiled as the new manager of Chelsea after putting pen to paper on a three-year contract.
Ancelotti has been successful as Milan coach but he's also received his fair share of criticism, mainly for the defeat at the hands of Liverpool in the 2005 Champions League final (Milan lost on penalties after throwing away a 3-0 lead) and the team's inability to mount a serious challenge for the title in the last three seasons.
It has to be said, however, that Milan's quest for domestic success has been undermined by their tendency to focus exclusively on the Champions League.
Ancelotti's departure was perhaps ill-timed in the sense that he could have left after the Champions League triumph in May 2007 and not at the end of a trophyless season in which Milan were knocked out of the UEFA and Italian cups at an early stage and were never in contention for the scudetto.
Figo, Golden Ball winner in 2000, was first tempted to leave Inter two years ago but opted to stay despite receiving an attractive offer from Qatar. The ex-Portugal international joined Inter four years ago after a brilliant spell in Spain with Barcelona and Real Madrid.
Figo's impact on Italian football could have been greater had he not received a two-year ban in 1995 after he reportedly signed for two clubs, Parma and Juventus, at the same time.
2003 Golden Ball winner Nedved is undoubtedly one of the best foreign players to star in the Serie A.
Lured to Italy after Euro 1996 by Lazio, Nedved was a top performer in the capital and later in the colours of Juventus. He won practically everything there was to win at club level, except for the Champions League.
The Czech winger still regrets missing the 2003 Champions League final, which Juve lost to Milan on penalties, after receiving a one-match ban following a yellow card in the dying moments of the semi-final against Real Madrid.
After an excellent 25-year career with Milan, Maldini decided to call it a day.
Maldini's roll of honour is extraordinary - five Champions Leagues (1989, 1990, 1994, 2003 and 2007) and seven leagues (1988, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1999 and 2004) besides numerous other trophies and milestones.
Maldini also came close to winning the World Cup in 1994 and the European Championship in 2000 but on both occasions, Italy finished runners-up.
Apart from Ancelotti, Figo, Nedved and Maldini, two other stalwarts could also quit Italian football, Milan's Kaka and Inter's Zlatan Ibrahimovic, the Serie A top scorer.
Italian football can't afford to lose such high-profile players because in so doing, the gulf in quality between the Serie A and the Spanish Liga and the Premiership would grow. However, Italian football still boasts one of the top, albeit controversial, coaches in the world.
The 0.01 per cent chance of Josè Mourinho leaving Inter a few days ago earned the Portuguese an increment in salary plus a one-year extension. The ex-Chelsea and Porto coach really knows how to play his cards.