Leonardo has taken up the newly created position of advisor.
The federation's official statement read: "With satisfaction, the President of the FIGC, Giovanni Malago, announces that Paolo Maldini has accepted the role of Technical Director of the Federation.
"Paolo Maldini will carry out this task together with Leonardo in the capacity of Advisor. Giovanni Malago will also entrust Paolo Maldini with the presidency of Club Italia."
Malago, who takes over the federation after weeks of contact with Maldini, explained the thinking behind the appointment and how Leonardo came to be involved.
"Maldini has always been my target, I thought he could be the right person to oversee the FIGC's technical department, which doesn't just cover the senior national team but the entire pipeline of youth national sides," Malago said. "Over two weeks we discussed all the projects, going into detail, and Paolo told me straight away that he'd be happy to involve Leonardo as a consultant, because the workload is significant, demanding and challenging. I'm pleased, because I hold Leonardo in deep esteem.
"They're two sides of the same coin, and there's a four-year commitment that has to take us from here to the 2030 World Cup, via a European Championship."
The pairing carries an echo of the past. Leonardo brought Maldini into AC Milan's boardroom in August 2018, nine years after his retirement as a player, when the club's then-owners Elliott appointed him head of strategic development for the sporting area; a year later he succeeded Leonardo as the club's technical director outright.
Together they backed Gennaro Gattuso as head coach, and Maldini's influence was still felt when Milan won the Scudetto in 2021-22, with incoming owners RedBird Capital Partners initially keeping faith in him before a split over the club's management model the following year. Eight years on, Maldini has returned the favour by bringing Leonardo into the national set-up.
Attention now turns to who will take charge of the Azzurri on the pitch, a decision Maldini will make jointly with Malago after Silvio Baldini's brief spell in interim charge following Gattuso's departure.
"From now we start thinking it through. I haven't spoken to anyone and didn't want to hear from anyone — it's right to share the decision on the new head coach with Maldini," Malago said. "I know the final responsibility is mine and the federal council's, but it's right and respectful to make that choice together."
Antonio Conte and Roberto Mancini remain the names most frequently linked, though Maldini's history points to other possibilities too, from Stefano Pioli, with whom he won the Scudetto at Milan, to Andrea Pirlo, whom he once tried to bring back to the club as a coach. No decision has yet been made.