Cagliari president Tommaso Giulini has hit back at comments made by AC Milan owner Gerry Cardinale regarding US-based interest in his team.
Cardinale was a guest on ‘The Varsity’ podcast and he returned to speaking about not only Milan but the Serie A panorama, for the first time in a while. He was asked about the competition that the league faces, and a remark he made has drawn some heat.
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“In the United States, no one wants to see Cagliari versus Lecce, and that’s a problem. Competition is the essence of sport, but it’s not rewarded financially.”
The statement from Cardinale – who is the founder owner of RedBird Capital – has caused a bit of a stir in Salento and Sardinia. Cagliari president Tommaso Giulini’s response was swift, as he took to X to post the following response.
“Dear Cardinale, it’s easy to say that ‘Cagliari-Lecce doesn’t interest anyone’ when you only know Sardinia as a tourist. The eighth club in Italy by fanbase is watched, respected, and – who knows – someone in the USA might cheer more for Cagliari than Milan.”
Cardinale used Cagliari-Lecce as an example to discuss how Serie A has a different appeal in the United States than the Premier League, and he went on to speak about the challenges that the English model poses for the rest of Europe.
“The real competition isn’t the other 19 Serie A teams: it’s the Premier League. That’s an economic black hole that drains wealth from the continent. They have almost four times the television revenue of other European leagues, and that’s a problem,” Cardinale said.
“In Serie A, the last team can beat the first on any given day. It’s the most competitive league, but we don’t get paid for it. We can’t get significant deals for international rights. Why? Because distributors only want the best, hence the Super League phenomenon.”
lol cardinale is right and the president knows it too
Well In regard of people not wanting to watch such a match I don’t think he is right as some people has roots from certain areas of Italy so why wouldn’t they support Cagliari or Lecce. I remember one of the Old Milan supporters from Goal who was from USA also supported Chievo Verona and if Cagliari is the 8th most supported club in Italy then obviously there must be a fair share who would do it in USA, Obviously not so well supported as Milan, Inter or Juventus but still then it could also be argued who wants to watch Sheffield utd vs. Fulham or some other team.
Either way considering Cardinales position he should be more respectful of the other teams despite them not being powerhouses.
Was that Joe?
Yep Joe Palotta. I remember he was a decendant after people in Verona and he also supported Chievo as that was the area his family came from.
Ah the flying donkeys were ok too!
I always thought they had the coolest nickname 😀 I cant remember if I’ve ever looked up why they was called that but I assume I did at some point of time but certainly can’t remember currently but in my twisted mind I always sees some donkeys getting catapulted in the dark ages 😀
I was in Verona maybe in 1995 or something and as a Dane i can profess that we was very well approached by those who supported Hellas Verona as Preben Elkjær was their top scorer when they won their Scudetto in 1984 or something 😀
The truth is that Cagliari and the likes are an eyesore to watch. Serie A needs to have 16 teams.
I’d say 18 but yes this is 100% spot on
@Martin Bernhard: Chievo Verona’s nickname is the flying donkeys due to their rivalry with the other local team Hellas Verona. At some point either someone publicly said or Hellas Verona supporters chanted that the day that Chievo Verona would play in Serie A the donkeys would be able to fly.
Hence, after Chievo Verona gained their promotion to Serie A were nicknamed the flying donkeys
😀 Thanks for elaborating and a fun tale 🙂