AC Milan CEO Giorgio Furlani has addressed a number of topics related to the future of the club, from Stefano Pioli’s position as head coach to the possibility of stars being sold and what will happen in the summer mercato.
Milan are right in the middle of a season-defining period given that there is the second leg of the Europa League quarter-final against Roma coming up, then the derby against Inter on Monday and the trip to face Juventus after that.
There continues to be a lot of speculation regarding what will happen when the curtain is drawn on 2023-24 though, such as a potential change in coach and the possibility that there could be alterations to the management as well.
Furlani was a guest on ‘Supertele’, the Monday evening DAZN talk show hosted by Pierluigi Pardo, and he addressed a number of key topics. MilanNews relayed his comments.
Giorgio, a big week is approaching…
“A key week both as a fan and as a manager. They are two important matches that we face with optimism. Fingers crossed.”
What is your opinion on the season?
“Too soon. Let’s see this last month. We are doing well compared to last year. We are 12 points ahead compared to a year ago. It’s a shame that we exited the Champions League, but the group was difficult.
“We always start with the intention to win. That’s our job to give the coach the most competitive team possible to reach certain goals.
“The truth is that we can’t do that every year, like against Borussia Dortmund in the return game the outcome was influenced by injuries. The Champions League is a regret, but we will do everything to do better next year.”
What can you tell us about the transfer plans?
“The philosophy is to improve the team. Last year we made a lot of changes because it was necessary to change the team a bit, this year it will be a more targeted job because the foundations are there. It is not right to say that we only aim for young players or a specific type.
“The work we do as other clubs do, is to look at various criteria. When we analyse potential purchases, we start from scouting which is obviously very important, there is the data that is talked about a lot which helps us in the choice – an important ingredient even if it does not provide the solution in itself – we look at the medical history and the personality of the player, in addition obviously to the financial theme.
“These are all elements for choosing a player, even if there aren’t necessarily characteristics at the start that tell you only about this or that type.”
Milan’s revenues have grown recently…
“We are around 400 million or so. How much can that grow? A complicated question. It certainly depends on the activity we do and therefore on the work we do with our partners.
“It partly depends on the UEFA competitions – how far we are progressing – and from the work we do with Serie A, not only as Milan but together with the other 19 clubs to increase the turnover of Serie A especially at a media level.
“And then there is the stadium part which is very important: today we have San Siro as a stadium and we are focusing on this to make it a better experience for our fans, who knows tomorrow.”
How important is a new stadium?
“I had a season ticket with my dad. San Siro is a special place and even football fans around the world tell you that San Siro is in the top five stadiums in the world. The stadium is an engine to create resources that are reinvested in football and today San Siro is an outdated product.”
Can a major sale be avoided in the summer mercato?
“We don’t need to make sales to recover from losses. Being a profitable club, we have the opportunity to invest from the start. Leao, Maignan and Theo Hernandez are happy to stay at Milan and have long contracts.”
What can you tell us about Giroud’s future?
“He made Milan’s history and is still performing at high levels. We’ll see what he decides at the end of the season. We weren’t shy last year in the transfer window and we won’t be shy in the one that arrives where it’s needed. The guys who arrived in the summer did well and are happy to be here.”
Do the fans have the right to dream of a statement signing?
“We shouldn’t make signings just for the sake of making them and put the club’s sustainability in difficulty. We must continue to improve the team to win. We must not make signings that just make a scene, but that are useful.”
What can you tell us about Ibrahimovic and Cardinale?
“A lot has been said about Zlatan. The leadership and final decisions belong to RedBird and Gerry Cardinale. There is a working group under him. Zlatan is already showing that he is also a great champion off the pitch. He contributes on various fronts.
“Then there are other areas of work such as that of the stadium where Scaroni is very involved Leadership is Cardinale’s. Ibra has a lot of influence on the sporting side.”
A comeback is needed in Rome…
“I hope that our champions play a great match on Thursday.”
Is it true your idols are Dejan Savicevic and George Weah?
“Among the ‘less obvious’ champions, for many AC Milan fans, they are wonderful players. I always remember Dejan’s goal against Barcelona, while Weah had devastating power.”
And Leao?
“He’s an extraordinary player and you don’t stop him when he wants to. He’s a very good boy, always smiling and it’s nice to be in a group with him.”
Inter can win the derby on Sunday…
“We’ll play it hard. We know how this Serie A will end and I think it’s not that important.”
Can you tell us any more about the investigation into Milan?
“There is this idea that RedBird is not the owner of Milan and it is wrong. The facts are simple. The authorities have the right to do whatever investigations they want, but we have nothing to hide and we are ready to cooperate with them to make them do their job as best as possible.”
Finally, what can you say about Pioli’s future?
“There is this constant being in the spotlight. Since the beginning of the season, criticism of the coach has flared up after every match he doesn’t win. This year he has done well and we are focused on the end of the season.
“He is an exquisite person, with whom we work very well and I can say that we are lucky to work with him. You cannot judge a coach on one match, but you can evaluate it on an entire season. We will see how the season ends, but we are confident.”
