RedBird Capital Partners founder Gerry Cardinale has received the prestigious NIAF Leonardo da Vinci Award in Finance, and he spoke about the privilege of owning AC Milan.
RedBird Capital took over as the owners of Milan last year having agreed a deal to purchase the club from Elliott Management, and they recently celebrated a year in charge of the Rossoneri.
Many consider it to have been a positive 12 months too. The journey to find a balance between on-field and financial success is a difficult one, but the accounts have been cleaned up (a profit will be posted for 2022-23) and investment in the playing squad has been forthcoming.
Cardinale was given the Leonardo da Vinci Award in Finance in he provided a speech in which he touched upon the work he has done so far as the owner of Milan.
“Thank you Jimmy for being here tonight – it means a lot to me personally that you would take time out of your incredibly busy sports programming weekend to make this possible,” he began.
“Jimmy is airing over 400 sporting events this weekend across the country and globally – a typical weekend for ESPN, but that’s what makes it the preeminent sports content platform in the world.
“He’s also our partner in the XFL spring football league, where we recently announced a merger with the USFL alongside its owner Fox Sports. Jimmy – I can’t thank you enough for being such a great friend to me and to RedBird.
“I also want to give a shout out to my friend Stefano Domenicali, another visionary and talented CEO who leads Formula 1. It’s an honour to be recognised tonight with Stefano and the other incredibly talented award recipients who represent the best of our Italian heritage in making a positive impact on the world.
“This is the first time I’ve accepted an award or recognition for the work that I consider to be a privilege to do every day. I’m lucky in that I love what I do, and there really isn’t a delineation between what I do and who I am.
“And in that regard, I’m incredibly fortunate and grateful for the tremendous people that I have in my life, many of whom are here tonight.
“There’s an old saying that you’re only as good as the people you have around you – or as our friend and former AC Milan player Zlatan Ibrahimovic said recently, ‘the individual comes with the collective, and if the collective does good, then the individual will do good’.
“As we enter our 10th anniversary at RedBird in 2024, I’m very proud of the incredibly talented individuals who form the ‘collective’ that makes RedBird such a special place to work.
“I also want to thank Robert Allegrini and Joe Del Raso for giving me tremendous perspective on NIAF and its mission. My Italian heritage is something I’ve always been proud of, and my parents made a concerted effort to instill this in me as a child.
“My fondest memories growing up were the annual summer trips we would take to Italy. And in one of those summers in 1982, when I was 15 years old, I found myself celebrating in the streets of Santa Maria Di Castellabate when Italy won the World Cup.
“I remember the heroes of that championship for Italy – Franco Baresi, Daniele Massaro, the late Paolo Rossi – and I remember vividly a level of celebration that I had never witnessed before in America.
“Fast forward 40 years later, almost to the day, and I found myself in a similar celebration outside the Duomo in Milan, celebrating AC Milan’s Italian Championship with the people of Milan.
“A few days before winning the Scudetto, we had agreed on terms for RedBird to acquire AC Milan, but held off on announcing the deal until after the game, so we didn’t distract the team or the fans.
“But as I stood there in Duomo Square amongst the euphoric Milanisti, I was transported back in time to 40 years earlier and the same feeling that somehow this was home for me.
“There’s a fairly well-known photo of me at the Duomo that was taken by a friend, where I was celebrating with the fans, who would soon come to know me as the new owner of their storied franchise.
“But in that moment, I was completely anonymous and able to reflect quietly on the surreal 40-year journey that in so many ways captured my life and what it means for me to be Italian.
“I’ve been investing in sports and media for the last 30 years, and I thought I had seen everything and done everything there is to do in sports. But this last year as the full owner of AC Milan has really opened my eyes and given me a whole new appreciation for what we do for a living.
“Yes, owning one of the most storied brands in all of European football is a privilege and a humbling experience, no matter who you are.
“But as a student of history, you quickly appreciate the giant Italian footsteps you’re stepping into, as well as the tremendous responsibility you have to the people and fans of Milan who call themselves ‘Milanisti’.
“And as if that were not enough to force you to pause and just soak it all in, I found myself on my first formal day as the new owner of AC Milan touring the museum at Casa Milan, the team’s headquarters in the heart of Milan, embracing the tremendous history and legacy of this legendary team that was founded 124 years ago.
“And who were my personal tour guides taking me through this history? None other than Franco Baresi and Daniele Massaro, two of the heroic players who I had watched win the World Cup for Italy in 1982 and who are now advisors to me and the team.
“After that summer 40 years ago, I brought back with me to America a poster of that championship team which was on my wall for the rest of high school – and I could never have imagined that two of those faces would now be my partners in helping oversee the continued curation of this storied franchise.
“As an American, the concept of ‘sharing ownership’ of the team with the fans is something new. As an Italian American, it is a humbling privilege that is not lost on me. When we win, I’m thrilled for our fans; when we lose, my heart bleeds for them, because I know what this means to them, especially having celebrated with them in 1982 and in 2022.
“In many ways, my remarks tonight in accepting this award are a ‘love song’ to Milan and to my Italian heritage. And in keeping with this legacy, I would be remiss if I didn’t conclude with a heartfelt acknowledgment and recognition of my family, without whom I would not be here tonight.
“My mother Dorothy D’Annunzio Cardinale, who recently celebrated her 85th birthday; my sister Jeanie; my niece Catherine; and my beautiful 16-year old daughter Gigi, who made the journey to be here tonight from her boarding school at Andover.
“Gigi, I know I speak for Grandma Dorothy and Aunt Jeanie when I say that we very proudly pass on to you our Italian heritage. I can’t wait to see the amazing things you will accomplish over the next 40 years of your journey. I love you and am very proud of you. Thank you.”
The B BOSS❤️🖤
He keeps retelling this story about where he was and how he remembers and we already caught some holes in it. So…
If you are that proud about your Italian heritage, why you don’t bring italian talent in your Ac Milan?
He’s developing it in the Primavera you nimb nuts!What?! Is it better to spend 35 million on Berardi or get Pulisic for 20?! The same with Fratessi and Reijnders!
I a couple of years you’ll start watching Primavera players wearing the shirt, and most likely next season with the Monza fellow, don’t worry about it!
Both Massara & Baresi was just bench players in WC 1982 not hero of the succes