There seems to be a rather cyclical pattern emerging at the moment whereby every couple of months one of a few sources will launch the news that connects AC Milan with potential investment/a takeover from the Middle East.
This time it was the turn of Il Sole 24 Ore and more specifically the journalist Carlo Festa, who claimed that the Saudi sovereign fund PIF are targeting a new wave of investments in Europe and in sports, with Milan a target for them.
What filters regarding the latest indiscretions? MilanNews echo the information we relayed in that article, stating that there are no ongoing talks between RedBird and PIF for Milan as per sources familiar that are close the situation,
As for the hypothesis that PIF’s contribution would serve to repay the Elliott Management vendor loan of €550m, the same sources recall what Gerry Cardinale himself publicly stated on the subject last month.
“I’m the one who wanted it, because Elliott did a great job. Nobody put a gun to my head. You can disagree with my strategies, but don’t invent stuff about them. I’m a corporate finance expert, so it’s baseless to assume that I’m experiencing difficulties 18 months after making these choices,” he said.
Furthermore, if PIF wanted to take Milan over fully – barring the use of vehicles to get around the regulations – it would clash with UEFA’s co-ownership rules, which last summer influenced the management of Milan and Toulouse.
Having any shared board members between the two clubs is prohibited which is why Cardinale had to formally resign from the board at Toulouse. PIF already own Newcastle, and there would therefore be a clash especially given both teams were in the same Champions League group this season.
The counter-argument could be that RedBird also have a stake in Liverpool, but Cardinale’s fund holds indirectly – through the Fenway Sports Group – only a 10% share of the Reds and that is considered an irrelevant share for the purposes of influencing the club.
I hate how silly season has already arrived in March. Why don’t we finish the damned season first and then let’s engage in the drama and vitriol of transfer and ownership news.
Wouldn’t it be funny if PIF decided to dump Newcastle and get share of Milan instead? That look on the Newcastle-fans’ faces would be worth seeing. 😀