CorSport: Ibrahimovic leading rapid ‘revolution’ at Milan with USA departure imminent

The future of AC Milan has been entrusted to Zlatan Ibrahimovic, the same man who will soon fly to the United States for over one month.

According to Corriere dello Sport, it’s ‘all in Ibrahimovic’s hands’. It was he who will lead the revolution at Milan, which began when he advised owner Gerry Cardinale to immediately fire sporting director Igli Tare, coach Massimiliano Allegri, CEO Giorgio Furlani and technical director Geoffrey Moncada.

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Failure to qualify for the Champions League was decisive, but the idea of ​​a true overhaul had already been in the works for a few weeks. With this move, the Swede has forcefully returned to the helm after a year in which he was present very little, at least publicly.

However, his interference with certain parts of the dressing room and his disputes with Allegri are well known, actions that subsequently impacted the team’s performance. Now, it will be Zlatan – along with Massimo Calvelli (who holds a very important role) and the owner – who will shape the future.

Over the past 48 hours, there have been face-to-face meetings with several sporting directors and a series of calls with foreign CEOs. The general trend is to take managers from foreign leagues, to accelerate the globalisation process of Milan that Cardinale has had in mind for some time.

Praying for time

In the past few hours, direct talks have been held with potential candidates for the positions available. Both Ibra and Calvelli are looking for a CEO and a sporting director to join their ranks.

Ian Ayre, a former Liverpool manager now at Nashville in the MLS, has been considered for the former. The very fact that he works in the United States could be an additional incentive for Milan’s American owners to bring him to Italy. Contacts have been made and evaluations are underway.

Liverpool’s Michael Edwards is another candidate of interest at Casa Milan, a name that’s been circulating in recent hours but deserves further investigation. He is technically a Fenway Sports Group employee, a fund which RedBird have an 11% stake.

For the position of sporting director, several candidates have been contacted. The idea of ​​Lee Congerton – formerly of Atalanta and already linked to Milan a year ago – has resurfaced as a potential candidate.

Also on the radar is Viktor Bezhani, current sporting director of Toulouse, another member of the RedBird galaxy. The 41-year-old Albanian has leaked that he is available for a move to Milan and could also take on the role of technical director.

First the management decisions, then Ibrahimovic will leave the company to travel to the USA, where he will be a commentator on Fox Sports covering the World Cup. He’ll be away from Italy for a month, following the managers’ work remotely.

They will be tasked with building a competitive team with limited resources, considering the €70m loss from failing to qualify for the Champions League. Ibrahimovic won’t give up on his plans outside of Milan, however crucial a time this is for the club.

Officially, Zlatan is a partner of Cardinale, not a director of the Rossoneri, and therefore will continue to be responsible for expanding and promoting the RedBird brand around the world.