Present as a key speaker at the Social Football Summit 2023 in Rome, AC Milan CEO Giorgio Furlani shared his thoughts on the club’s project under RedBird among other things. He insisted that the Rossoneri’s journey is based on ‘sporting success’.
It’s been over a year since Gerry Cardinale and RedBird officially took over Milan from Elliott Management. Although the first season wasn’t a huge success domestically, the Rossoneri reached the semi-finals in the Champions League.
Speaking to Alessandro Guidice at the Social Football Summit this afternoon, Furlani shared his thoughts on the project as a whole and the stadium pursuit on San Donato. He was also asked about the very important growth decree. The quotes below have been transcribed by MilanNews.
On the stadium project…
“I prefer not to make predictions, designing stadiums in Italy is not easy. San Siro 2.0 has been abandoned, now we are focused on San Donato.”
On Milan’s project…
“It’s a project based on sporting success. I’m convinced that it must be like this, in the medium term the interests of the fan and the shareholder are the same. Sporting success creates financial success. It’s strange to say it over and over again. But the resources that are created by the business are reinvested in the football product to be more successful.”
On the Growth Decree…
“For Italian football, we find ourselves in a situation with many forces against us. The impossibility of building stadiums is one, piracy is another. Then there are smaller things that make Italian football less competitive compared to other top leagues. The Growth Decree is the only lever to make the league competitive compared to others.
“Football is not a toy. It’s an industry that attracts foreign capital. Thanks to the Growth Decree, Italian teams have returned to attracting talent which we couldn’t afford before and thanks to these players, we have been successful in Europe. So it seems to me a total contradiction to go and change a rule which is the one that allows us to go towards the right path and which is inherent in the word ‘growth’. It seems crazy to me.”
On Saudi Arabia…
“As an economist, I say that it can’t help but be a good thing. Its entry is an opportunity for everyone.”
On what Milan will be like in three years…
“It’s a continuous path of growth, we want to implement the business side of things. I hate making predictions before matches, let alone three years from now. I would hope to have advanced the stadium project further.”
On objectives…
“Is it easier to win the Scudetto or to break even? Both are difficult. But if you win the Scudetto, it’s easier to balance the budget.”
On Serie A …
“If we are rivals on the pitch, we must work together with the other 19 clubs and grow the football product off it. Two major systemic challenges: the fight against piracy which is a drama for Italian football and the stadiums. We are committing to our stadium project, but I’m happy that other teams also are undertaking other projects.”
On TV rights…
“Creating a Serie A channel with higher revenues is an innovative, interesting idea, but it’s not without risks. There isn’t any evidence that I know of around Europe that proves it’s the right path, but in my opinion, not enough analysis has been done to understand it either. It’s clearly an interesting concept. As Serie A we decided that we were not ready and therefore to go with the traditional form.”
Milan are currently in third place in Serie A and after two points in the last four games, they need to bounce back with a win on Saturday. Three days later, they will face Borussia Dortmund in a Champions League clash that will decide a lot, with it being the penultimate round.
“a project based on sporting success” ….umm so you fire the guy that brought said sporting success in a Scudetto and UCL semi and 3 consecutive years of UCL qualification 🤷♂️
They just turned him into the scapegoat, when the problem was much deeper than that.
Maldini was not a “Yes Man”
He called out the new owners in their 1st month, June 2022.
He was rightly annoyed he had not been contacted regarding his position and the transfer market was frozen
At that point in time we only needed a RW, Striker and AM to complete a very high quality team. Now we are back to square 1
True. He also was right two seasons in a row. First season he wanted Botman (I also had my doubts but can admit I was wrong) even after we had a stellar defensive performance in the Scudetto run in defensive base first. Second season he wanted a change of coach ..*coughs* but I’ll let that one play out for itself.
As you said all we needed was the RW a proper AM since Hakan left and a striker. Simple. Instead of overhaul. Seems he’s the one that was always one step ahead of everyone else and that type of anticipation comes with the territory of being the world’s best defender
“. Second season he wanted a change of coach ..*coughs* but I’ll let that one play out for itself.”
TO PIRLO!!! Wanted to “upgrade” Pioli to PIRLO!!! Yeah, that would have worked well for sure… 😀 😀 😀