AC Milan owner Gerry Cardinale has explained in full his aspirations to transform not only the club’s history, but also the face of Italian football.
Cardinale recently marked an anniversary with Milan, specifically one year since his fund RedBird Capital Partners completed the club’s takeover from Elliott Management just over a year and two weeks ago.
It’s difficult to summarize Milan’s wild summer, but basically, Zlatan Ibrahimovic retired after the final game of the 2022-23 season, Paolo Maldini and Ricky Massara were fired as directors, fan favorite Sandro Tonali was transferred in a club-record deal, and then 10 acquisitions followed.
Milan supporters are intrigued to see where this season goes because of those arrivals and the (on paper) development of the squad. The new season has started well with three victories in a row, but tomorrow’s match against Inter will be the biggest test yet.
Cardinale provided the following translation of his lengthy interview with Corriere della Sera’s “7” magazine, which was also made available online.
A year ago, the first image we saw of you was at Piazza Duomo with the fans celebrating the Scudetto. You hadn’t yet purchased Milan; why did you go there, and what did you learn from the experience?
“In reality we had already defined everything, but we had decided not to make
“When the Azzurri won the World Cup in 1982, I was present. I had their posters in my room and was watching Franco Baresi, Daniele Massaro, and Paolo Rossi. I need to talk to Franco and Daniele about it.
I was 15 years old and having never experienced anything like it when I went to Santa Maria di Castellabate, a little village in the province of Salerno, to rejoice with the fans on the street.
“I went to the Duomo for this reason; it was like reliving a really intimate, emotionally intense encounter. There is a difference between being passionate and being emotional, as seen in that photo.
Describe it.
“The fans own the feelings; it is my duty to exercise self-control.” The Curva Sud is excellent. The supporters are our allies and an integral part of the club’s history; in this country, there is a sense of community that is lacking in America.
Why did you choose Milan?
“I have always thought they are one of the 4-5 top clubs in Europe. We are here thanks to what our predecessors did, Silvio Berlusconi, Gianni Rivera before him, Sacchi, Baresi, Maldini…”
You alluded to Elliott. Everyone is aware that RedBird’s acquisition, which sparked several rumors, was financed by a vendor loan. This is a chance to explain…
“Garbage. In actuality, RedBird owns 100% of Milan because it has spent $600,000,000 in money and 100% ownership over that capital. I thought that staying with Elliott was a good thing, therefore I selected its pure financing for 550 million at a very attractive interest rate, which I would pay in three years, without shares in the capital.
“I could have raised a billion dollars in cash or used outside institutions, but I opted to work with Elliott because I have the utmost regard for Gordon Singer and Paul Singer. It was a clever method of
Elliot was brought up by you. Everybody is aware that RedBird’s vendor loan financing for the acquisition, which sparked many rumors, was used. We have the chance to be more specific now.
“Garbage. In actuality, RedBird controls all of the 600 million in capital that it has put in Milan, making it the sole owner of that capital. I thought that sticking with Elliott was a good thing, so I chose its pure financing for 550 million at an extremely attractive interest rate, which I will pay back in three years, without any capital shares.
I had the option of raising $1 billion in cash or using outside banks, but I selected Elliott because of my high regard for Gordon Singer and Paul Singer. It was a clever approach to
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