AC Milan are heading towards some big changes in the summer after such a disastrous campaign, but the most crucial ones will impact the management.
Milan currently sit in ninth place in the league and were dumped out of the Champions League by Feyenoord over two legs. It is safe to say that nobody within the hierarchy deems this to be a satisfactory return, and that is why major alterations are expected.
For example, it is now being widely reported that a new sporting director will be added after Antonio D’Ottavio’s exit in December. We went into the merits of the two main candidates in a separate feature, though it is obvious to say that they will have a big say in the rebuild.
However, there is some more worrying news coming out regarding the lack of an aligned and united vision within the management about what Milan’s future should look like. So, wh exactly has clashed and who stands to win?
A power struggle develops
The first to break the news were Footmercato, who stated that the Milan management is ‘more than ever divided into several camps’ and on crucial issues that concern the steering of the ship moving forward.
Whether it is on the future of the head coach Sergio Conceicao, the sporting director to choose or the plan for the future, the source claimed that the CEO Giorgio Furlani and RedBird Capital Senior Advisor Zlatan Ibrahimović are ‘tearing each other apart’.
There is an ‘internal clash between directors’ currently being witnessed within the Rossoneri ranks, with Ibrahimović being ‘questioned more than ever’. For example, Furlani reminded everyone before the Lazio game who is in charge, stating: “All decisions pass through me.”
The relationship between the Italian and the Swede has been rather ‘tense’ for a few weeks because there have been several disagreements on the plan for the sporting side. This is where Geoffrey Moncada also enters the mix.
Furlani and the majority of the management are pushing for Fabio Paratici because of his experience in demanding environments, while Zlatan has contacted Igli Tare, a close friend of his. Moncada also wants an ally on board, namely ex-Monza director Francois Modesto.
Despite being proclaimed as Gerry Cardinale’s right-hand man, Ibrahimovic has lost a lot of support internally during recent months. One thing his detractors point at is his decision to give another accomplice in Jovan Kirovski a job with Milan Futuro, who are having a dreadful debut campaign.
Referencing the Footmercato report again, some management employees are ‘accusing him of waiting until the fire was complete before fully intervening’, while others believe he ‘takes up too much space for a figure who is not officially employed by AC Milan’.
Showing up at events like Sanremo Festival or Formula 1 Grand Prix has not done anything to ease the concerns that Ibra is simply focused on PR rather than building the best possible Milan. All of the above, meanwhile, means Conceição feels very alone and doesn’t know which director to turn to.
What about Cardinale? The owner is silent while the infighting continues, but Furlani has flown out to the United States for a visit – another sign of the actual hierarchy at play – before the RedBird chief heads over to Italy before the end of the season for a full and comprehensive debrief.
If the above sounds a touch on the dramatic side, Sky journalist Peppe Di Stefano backed up what we have heard during a segment for Sky on Thursday afternoon, painting a very bleak picture.
“Furlani left for the USA, it is said, in the company of two trusted men, probably two lawyers, to reach Gerry Cardinale and try to rebalance Milan and therefore the balance of power within the club, to understand who has and will have more weight in the choices,” he said.
“Ibra and Cardinale have already chosen Tare as the new sporting director, but probably not everyone has the OK yet. It was already understood when, before Lazio, Furlani himself had underlined his centrality within the Milan world, burdens and honours, and speaking in general, reiterating that the last word belongs to him, who is the CEO.
“And here the same old story comes back into fashion: on one side the Cardinale sphere with Ibrahimovic (the American’s sole point of reference for what concerns the sporting part), on the other the Elliott sphere with Furlani, a numbers man who in recent years with careful management has put Milan back on track from a financial point of view.
“I believe that at the moment everything has been put on hold, I’m talking about technical issues such as the choice of the new sporting director, the possible future coach and the summer mercato. First, the balance of power within the Rossoneri club will have to be decided and rebalanced.
“These will therefore be delicate days and weeks. If there are differences, they must be clarified and an internal balance must be found. Because without harmony it will be difficult to build a winning Milan.”
With the biggest summer in years approaching, this is not exactly the kind of strong and stable atmosphere required to properly execute a revolution. As the cooks argue around the broth, everything has boiled over.
The changes anticipated
None of this will stop the changes actually happening, though, and according to our sources at SempreMilan.it the managerial revolution at Milan will have a loser: Zlatan Ibrahimovic. It would seem that the Swede will suffer the most from the presence of a sporting director.
The former striker entered the management with an undefined role, and now seems destined to have less and less say in the club’s strategic decisions. The internal duel between Furlani and Zlatan on the influence within the club has a clear winner, and it is the Italian CEO.
The decision to keep Furlani at the helm of Milan is not surprising, considering his close relationship with Elliott Management and the positive work on the commercial side. Furthermore, unlike Ibrahimovic, Furlani is under contract with the club, while the Swede has no formal ties.
The presence of the new sporting director will influence the reorganisation too. Moncada is set to return to being head of scouting, while Furlani will maintain a financial oversight role. This means that Ibrahimovic will lose even more weight in market decisions, seeing his influence reduced.
What next for Zlatan Ibrahimovic?
While on the one hand Ibrahimovic could see his decision-making role within the club vanish, on the other it is not excluded that he could remain in the Milan orbit with a more representative function.
The possibility that Zlatan becomes a sort of ambassador is concrete: a reference face to attract new talents, a symbolic figure rather than an operational one. Ibrahimovic could even spend most of his time in the United States and return to Italy only to support Cardinale for the big matches or strategic visits.
It would certainly be a step back for Ibra compared to today, but the experiment of choosing him as the face of the management was an absolute failure, both in terms of the work done on the playing side and also his communication style.
Precisely in this sense, Zlatan could return to playing the role of ‘legend’ to be displayed at Milanello in the most difficult moments, a bit like what he did in the past in Paolo Maldini and Ricky Massara’s Milan.
An Inter-style structure?
The friction between Furlani and Ibrahimovic highlights a broader problem in the management of Milan: the lack of a strong and clearly defined managerial figure in the sporting sphere. A winning club needs shared leadership between management and the technical area, something currently lacking.
Precisely for this reason, RedBird have decided to focus on a sporting director with full decision-making powers, while Furlani will continue to deal with the economic-financial part. It is along the lines of what happens at Inter: Alessandro Antonello as corporate CEO, and Beppe Marotta as sporting CEO.
Zlatan, on the other hand, could have a more marginal but still significant role as the symbolic face of Milan. Whether the ‘lion’ will accept being caged is another thing, given his repeated comments about only returning because he has been assured that he can make a difference.
3-4-1-2
———leao——-abraham
—————pulisic
jimenez—reijnders – fofana—walker
——–pavlovic–gabbia–thiaw
—————–mike
Dude season is over. Next season they are going to do big transfer market again.
1. Add Matheu Flamini into the hall of fame as one of the greatest midfielders ever.
2. Beg Flamini to buy Milan with his spare billions.
3. The return of Paolo Maldini
Is Milan failing in the Financial Aspect?
NO. They are thriving. Is Furlani doing his job well then? Seems so.
Is Milan failing in the Sporting Aspect?
ABSOLUTELY. Are Zlatan and Moncada doing their jobs well? Absolutely Not.
So who’s more likely to to depart???
I completely understand Furlani’s frustrations with the sh!tstorm Zlatan has caused. If Moncada was part of it too then he’s part of the problem to have been put into that position.
Yes but Cardinale sack Maldini. And they put Moncada in place Maldini. I mean, Cardinale did that all. And then he bring Zlatan to do job together. But they all failed.
Now Cardinale can’t sack himself.
Of course gery can sack himself if RB failed to pay their debt to Elliot but thats meant furlani and his boss Elliot will rule over ACM again ( thats story for later) . Back to topic if paratici come as DS thats will be automatically kick ibra & moncada, thats why ibra want tare his close friend become DS so he can still stay as advisor
Furlani was the reason Maldini and massara were Sacked
Yeah Furlani job in financial has been okay but he also has some leverage in sporting section. Otherwise how would Fonseca got the job? I don’t think Zlatan would hire him. My guess is Cardinale give them the coach requirements and the directors get the shortlist of coaches who fit the requirements.
If Furlani was CFO then you’d be correct. As CEO, he is responsible for this entire mess. A CEO’s job is about more than money. The fact him and Zlatan have power struggles is not surprising. One is a bully and one is a b!tch.
Yeah moncada is sh!t and actually the worst “scout” in Serie A . Hes not even qualified to be DS, him and Zlatan are still on college. Should have been fired after signing Musah and Royale. Unacceptable.
All 3 + Gerry are the problem so no DS is going to help, it’ll just be adding a cook to otherwise crowded and confused kitchen. NONE of them know about the sporting side. None.
in my company (startup) the ceo is the ceo because he has our respect. respect is earned.
one does not say I am ceo so you have to respect me.
bunch of clowns
Political war to get more powerful influence in club. Who will win? Who can get their friends choosen as sporting director.
#Cardinale with his golden son ibra choose igle tare.
#furlani choose paratici.
#moncada choose modesto.
Berta? Already choosen by arsenal.
Santori? To late, last month has extended his contract with bologna.
Who will be choosen:
#expensive paratici
#igle tare cheaper than paratici.
#cheapest modesto
Political power influence in managent:
#furlani backup by hidden powerful elliot.
#ibra backup by godfather cardinale.
#moncada just honest guy, who want someone who can discuss fluently in french language, his compatriot modesto. Moncada is alone in this power struggle, his backup is his smile.
Just sack ibra, as player he was great, but as a management man he has shown so far he is garbage
I agree: unlike Maldini, who is class, Zlatan, great player that he was, is crass. But the problem at ACM is bigger than the Swede. It goes all the way to the top; to the owner who sacked Maldini and replaced him with Zlatan.
Cardinale is trying to commodify ACM, converting it from a unique cultural institution into a fungible. In addition to terminating the highly respected Maldini – a club icon – he has stripped the team of its Italian identity and is supplanting its traditional red and black shirt colors.
If a characterless ACM’s only connection with Milan henceforth is that it’s based in the city, why should we as its fans continue to support it? The club may as well say arrivederci and relocate to Las Vegas, where it can change its name and discard its few other remaining identifying marks and play as the Casino City Cardinals.
I have no problem with an owner who wants to make money, provided that he also brings success on the pitch. Cardinale has done nothing to lift our team to the heights in world football where we’ve historically belonged. His mercato strategy – to buy rejects and has-beens instead of stars – won’t get us anywhere. It means we’ll be forever competing with the likes of lowly Lecce to secure a mid-table position In Serie A – not qualifying for and figuring seriously in the Champions League.
ACM is one of the most decorated clubs in world football. We deserve better than to have an owner who prioritizes profit over sporting success; shows little respect for our essential Italian identity; and ruthlessly trashes our most precious symbols.
So long as he and his underlings remain in charge of the club, ACM will remain a pale shadow of its former exalted self, no matter who’s brought in as coach, sporting director, or CEO.
Enough is enough.
Antonello is not working for Inter anymore. His contract was terminated.
You’re all forgetting Ibra is an employee of RedBird and not AC Milan. That’s why his sacking is not probable. Maybe a shift of position and role but that’s about it.
Furlani is a snake, no doubt but he’s an employee of Elliott and he’s going nowhere as long as Gerry in in debt with them. I don’t like this little rat at all but financially he’s keeping us in good form.
Moncada on the other hand was given a position he’s not competent at and should be removed immediately. 250 millions for 18 players in two and a half seasons and we’re struggling to qualify for Conference League. A drunk chimp could achieve that. A utter failure and a fraud.
Clean them all out, my god
Cardinale cares only about money. If we want him to sell, we need to stop buying season tickets, tickets for matches, AC Milan merchandise, and don’t watch games on TV. Once the money dries up, Cardinale will leave. Forza Milan!