AC Milan against Roma tonight is the clash of two American ownerships: one that considers a Champions League spot as a bare minimum, while the other are dreaming of it.
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As La Gazzetta dello Sport (seen below) writes this morning, participating in the most popular and richest continental tournament is the objective of both, because Gerry Cardinale and Dan Friedkin it is a source of pride.
Why? Because their American compatriots are less passionate about Serie A but remain faithful to the spectacle of the Champions League. Being a part of the biggest European competition and regularly playing against the elite sides has above all an economic value.
This is decisive in the development of their respective projects, as is a new stadium. Both are at the forefront in the mission to build new stadiums too, having hit some red tape along the way.
Cardinale in the meantime will sit in the stands of the old but fascinating San Siro. He didn’t arrive to put press on Pioli: he judged the first part of the season to be unsatisfactory but the final judgment will depend on the team’s presence in the top four.
The Rossoneri are third at the moment with a nice gap to fifth and they can strengthen its position tonight. To secure the Champions League, Cardinale will authorise other investments in the January window too.
The expense for FIllippo Terracciano from Verona (€4.5m plus bonuses) will be repaid when Fenerbahce buy Rade Krunic for the same amount. The size of the summer budget, to be reinvested in new players, will depend on qualification for the UCL.
In the summer, Milan spent €113.5m (plus €19m in bonuses) on eight signings, with two more being free additions, receiving €76.5m largely of the sale of Sandro Tonali to Newcastle United.
These are operations that followed the management reorganisation that saw Paolo Maldini and Ricky Massara sacked, with the CEO Giorgio Furlani and technical director Geoffrey Moncada at the helm.
In December, Cardinale made the return of Zlatan Ibrahimovic official as a senior advisor. All together, in June, they will decide who the next Rossoneri coach will be. Cardinale will obviously have the last word.
The objective is to make the team increasingly competitive with attention to the accounts: the €6m profit in the consolidated balance sheet as of 30 June 2023 takes on an almost historic significance.
The last time Milan had closed in profit was in 2006: +€2.5m, thanks to Andriy Shevchenko’s €42m sale to Chelsea which generated a huge capital gain.
