This afternoon, AC Milan’s Chief Financial Officer spoke at an event as a guest speaker, replacing the planned Rossoneri representative, Giorgio Furlani.
After this weekend’s loss to Sassuolo, questions about the Milan project are louder than they have been in recent months. The Scudetto was never the real aim, so whilst frustrating, the fallout from dropping out of the race was minimal.
However, the re-entry into the Champions League discussion has caused a meltdown. There are questions about the future once again and reports today suggest that a ‘major’ sale will be needed for the Diavolo to continue their recent financial trends.
Of course, this has seemingly been prioritised in recent years, as seen with Tijjani Reijnders’ sale.
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Cocirio speaks at conference
Furlani was expected to attend and speak at the Merger & Acquisition Summit 2026. Italians Do It Better: the Italian system among companies, institutions, and Made in Italy in the new global competition event, but he was replaced by Stefano Cocirio, the club’s Chief Financial Officer.
MilanNews have relayed his words from the conference, which has looked at how Italian football can be at ‘the centre of attention among new investors’.
How can a club like Milan be economically virtuous but also sportingly virtuous?
“I’d like to make a very brief introduction. The question is absolutely valid, but perhaps in the world of football we’ve become a bit accustomed to the question. You can be competitive in sport and financially self-sufficient.
“I don’t think there are any other sectors where people wake up in the morning and ask themselves, “Can we build good infrastructure and make money?” Football has incentives that lead to a financial imbalance, such as Champions League qualification for those who aspire to be at the top of the table and avoid relegation.
“Every day in football teams, there will be very rational conversations that lead a management team to say, “I’ll spend more in the hope of achieving the objective or avoiding catastrophe.” It’s possible to combine sporting competitiveness and financial stability in the world of football.
“I think it can be done, but a few ingredients are needed. First of all, sometimes the two are seen as opposites. In reality, in the medium term, there can be no financial sustainability, at least for a team of AC Milan’s size and prestige, without success on the pitch.
“Success on the pitch tends to drive financial sustainability, not the other way around. Once this dynamic is established, there are fewer obstacles to maintaining financial sustainability and continuing to be successful on the pitch.
“There are many virtuous examples in Europe: Bayern Munich, let’s all see how they play.”
Why has there been no response to popular shareholding in Italy like in Germany?
“Somewhat historical reasons. Historically, Italian clubs have always had a major local industrialist who bought 100% of the shares and managed the club. The two Milanese clubs, Lazio and Roma, and Juventus, in the past.
“And this meant that, once we reached a period of transition from family ownership to a more structured ownership, like an investment fund, it was more natural at that point to cede control of the company rather than go down the path of popular shareholding.”
What needs to be done to see AC Milan return to their former European glory?
“We compete for talent at the European level. We have three fundamental revenue streams: TV rights, the stadium, and commercials. To become competitive again, and therefore compete for the best talent, we must necessarily grow these three revenue streams.
“Let’s talk about the stadium: we have a stadium that is glorious but no longer in step with the times…
What stage is the stadium project at?
“The project continues to move forward. The timeline calls for obtaining permits by 2027, to complete construction by 2031 and therefore in time for the 2032 European Championships, which Italy currently wouldn’t be able to host without revamping some of its existing facilities.
“The stadium is certainly one of the levers we can use to try to close the gap with the other major European clubs. Real Madrid makes around €250 million from the stadium business, while Inter and us are around €80 million. That’s certainly a lever.
“History tells us that clubs that have built new stadiums have, in subsequent years, seen an increase in commercial rights, because it’s a testament to the clubs’ ambition, because sponsors want to be associated with success stories, transformation, and new infrastructure. That would also help close the gap.
“The third point, regarding television rights, we definitely need to work on foreign rights. Currently, Serie A makes around €250 million from foreign rights. The Premier League makes around €2.6 billion, La Liga makes 700 million a year, the Bundesliga does more or less the same as us.
“That’s where we really need to work to try to close that gap. Partly because we have a diaspora of Italians around the world interested in watching Serie A. And also because Serie A is still recognised for some of the glory of past years, as well as the league’s extreme competitiveness.
“I believe there’s room for growth there. It’s all about increasing revenues to reduce that economic deficit, which then translates into a sporting deficit.”
There are virtuous examples of clubs managed by private equity funds: Atletico Madrid, for example, is in the Champions League semi-finals…
“Atlético Madrid is a beautiful story. Fifteen years ago, perhaps only football fans knew the history of Atlético Madrid, perhaps because famous players like Vieri and others had played there.
“They implemented a very serious program focused on the construction of the new stadium, which created a driving force that later made them very competitive. Atlético Madrid has and will always have an advantage over Italian teams: in Spain, there are two enormous teams, a great team, and then the fourth-placed team is a world away from the third-placed team.
“In Italy, that’s not the case. For better or worse, we have many teams competing near the top, and this means that to qualify for the Champions League in Italy, you need 70 points. In Spain, 60 is probably enough.
“What does this do? It gives Atlético Madrid the ability to plan for the medium term while still having a reasonable certainty of participating in the Champions League every year.”
How important is it for you to finish in the top four this year? Your transfer strategy is also being reviewed based on that…
“The Champions League, as you know, certainly brings a team like AC Milan between €60 and €90 million in revenue. Being in the Champions League is crucial. It allows us to develop a different plan over the summer, certainly more ambitious, and allows us to focus more on the future and not on managing each individual year.”
Can we score a goal first?
Too soon for that. Maybe next season?
They sold many best players even when participating in ucl. Even semi finals
Dont trust redchicken guys.
A useless article, we know nothing new