Gerry Cardinale has publicly hinted at frustration regarding Lega Serie A’s unwillingness to take some of his ideas on board since he took over at AC Milan.
Cardinale officially took over Milan just over a year ago and brings with him a lot of experience in American sports, who are far ahead of Italian football when it comes to the media production side of things and generating multiple revenue streams.
Serie A as a league is well behind others in Europe too such as the Premier League which continues to dwarf its revenues, so there must be a systematic change and modernisation to address that gap.
As part of a wide-reaching interview with Corriere della Sera’s ‘7’ magazine (read in full here), Cardinale was asked what he has learned about Italian football since beginning his adventure and what the challenges are that must be faced.
“The thing that struck me most in this first year is seeing the distance with Chelsea in the two Champions League matches. Therefore I wanted a more physical, faster, more intense Milan, and I saw it in the first few games,” he said.
“I will do everything to have a winning club, but as a partner of Serie A we must hope for equal commitment to reduce the gap between the entire league and the Premier League. To achieve this we need to change.
“I believe I can contribute, I have 30 years of experience, I have worked with the best. The company partners in our portfolio are Apple, Amazon, Paramount, Disney, ESPN, Fox, I have found innovative ways to maximise the value of the product.
“I’m disappointed that Serie A didn’t take this into account. I was willing to share my experiences, but no one seems to consider them relevant.”
