In recent months, there has been no shortage of rumours regarding Gerry Cardinale and his ownership situation with regards to AC Milan.
There has been speculation that he is in talks to sell a stake in the club, but Corriere dello Sport (via MilanNews) state that they had an ‘informal chat’ with the founder and leader of RedBird Capital about his plans for Milan.
The American has no intention of selling Milan, who he considers the best of all the investments of his 30-year career as an entrepreneur in the sports industry .
RedBird’s work is there for all to see as they recorded a profit in the accounts for 2022-23 – the first for 17 years – while the current management generated €78m in cash without selling players.
This year – with the group stage exit from the Champions League – revenues will obviously be lower, but Milan aim to stabilise between €50-100m per year in positive cash, to be reinvested in the squad.
Cardinale’s goal is to increase the sporting value of the Milan team a little every year for the next five years. When the new stadium is also available, we can aim to go from €100-250m per year in cash to invest on the market.
According to Cardinale, Milan are still an ‘undersized asset’ despite being one of the best-known European football brands in the world. To bring the club back to the top, victories are needed, but it is essential to give continuity to these victories.
There is no point in winning a league title or a cup competition to then disappear from the top the following year: a top club needs to remain at the top consistently.
Then there is the stadium project which will bring important new revenues. In recent weeks, Milan have taken concrete steps towards the construction of a new home in San Donato.
RedBird are ready to invest a lot to build the most modern entertainment facility in Europe, redeveloping an entire neighbourhood in the process.
In addition to staying at Milan for a long time, Cardinale is also aiming for the growth of Italian football: “Me and De Siervo [CEO of Serie A] finally understood each other, and he understood that in the USA I can lend a hand.
“With ESPN, Amazon, Fox and all the majors I have been doing business successfully for years. My experience and my relations with the media are a resource that can be strategic for Serie A.”
In recent months there has also been a lot of media speculation on the vendor loan that is owed to Elliott Management as agreed at the time of the takeover.
“I worked for 20 years at Goldman Sachs. Does anyone really think I’m so naive as to take on a debt to be repaid in just 18 months? Elliott has done a great job in restructuring the club, I’m the one who asked him to stay on board.”
The chat ended like that because Cardinale is leaving for the Middle East, which is a fundamental area for him and where there are many investors. But, he was keen to reiterate that his plans include the desire to remain at the helm of Milan for a long time.
