Silvio Berlusconi has hit back at critics questioning his love for AC Milan, with the president insisting the club have "never" played as badly as they did under Sinisa Mihajlovic.
Saturday's 2-1 defeat by Juventus left Milan 15 points behind Roma in the final Champions League berth and was the fifth successive match in which they failed to win.
As a result, Milan announced on Tuesday that coach Mihajlovic had been dismissed, just 10 months after taking over from Filippo Inzaghi, and replaced by Cristian Brocchi until the end of the season.
Berlusconi's decision was met with scathing criticism from the club's Curva Sud supporters in a statement and the president responded, declaring all of his choices are made for the good of Milan.
In an open letter posted on his Facebook page, Berlusconi said: "The decision to entrust Milan to Christian Brocchi has given rise to much debate.
"All opinions are legitimate, of course: this choice, dictated by my sense of responsibility, is, like any other choice, freely open to criticism from anyone.
"But what I can't share is the fact that we are questioning my love for AC Milan. I have always been in love with Milan and the choices I've made in 30 years of the presidency have always been solely in the interests of AC Milan and of all of those who love it.
"I claim with pride all my choices from first to last, and I mean in dismissing of a coach whose style of play was not up to the history of AC Milan, because let us be clear, aside from the results, we've never seen Milan play so badly.
"To this end, not now but at the end of the season, considering the practical results of this choice, we can take the best decisions in the interest of our Milan."
