Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s return for a third spell at AC Milan has been confirmed by the former striker, as well as owner Gerry Cardinale and CEO Giorgio Furlani.
Multiple sources reported this morning that Ibrahimovic’s comeback is set to be announced through an official statement from the club today, though there is still some mystery as to what his exact role will be.
In an article on the Financial Times, they state that the Swede will be back at Milan as an ‘advisor to the team’s owners and an operating partner for RedBird, the US private equity club that controls the Serie A team’.
The plan is for the 41-year-old to work closely with Cardinale, the founder of RedBird, to further grow the investment firm’s existing portfolio of assets across sports, which of course will have a predominant focus on Milan.
The FT also managed to get some comments from Ibrahimovic, Cardinale and Furlani regarding what the new collaboration means and the motivations behind it.
Ibrahimovic: “RedBird has partnered with some of the greatest athletes, teams and business figures in the world to create businesses with meaning and impact. I look forward to contributing to their investing activities across their sports, media and entertainment properties.”
Cardinale: “What makes a winner of Zlatan’s calibre is not just physical talent, but also high intellect and an entrepreneurial spirit. At RedBird, we have developed partnerships with a very select group of high-performing world class athletes and artists who are able to thrive in the RedBird ecosystem.”
Furlani: “Bringing a leader like Ibra as an adviser to AC Milan’s leadership team underscores our commitment to the future success of our club.”
