Journalist Tancredi Palmeri believes that the fact the owners of AC Milan are searching for additional funding is actually a worrying sign.
It was reported in La Repubblica yesterday that PIF – the Saudi-backed Public Investment Fund – are interested in acquiring a majority stake in Milan and they want to do so by the end of the season.
They spoke of an almost total acquisition rather than just buying a minority stake as had been previously reported, while adding that Milan were valued in the summer of 2022 at €1.2bn when they were taken over but are now worth around €1.6bn.
What has ‘unofficially’ filtered from Milan, RedBird and Gerry Cardinale regarding the story that there is no intention to sell the majority shares of the club to the PIF fund in the short term.
Now, Tancredi Palmeri gave an update from outside San Siro regarding the indiscretion from Repubblica, speaking in his weekly column for Sportitalia.
“Milan also came to the desert. [They] Look for camels, also called money, through which to finance the project. And the message is not reassuring. Because the financing that Cardinale needs is not something worth a few million, sponsor stuff so to speak,” he began.
“Cardinale is looking for substantial shareholders. The problem is that those to whom Cardinale turned – assuming they accept or not – are actors who are never satisfied with playing non-protagonists.
“The Arabs from all over the world, wherever they enter, do so to command, there is not even an example of Arabs who have put heavy money into football by limiting themselves to being part of the subsidisers.
“Cardinale’s difficulty is therefore real: there will be a loan to be repaid with interest to Elliott, the stadium cannot be unlocked, we need oxygen so as not to be forced to lose.
“But if that type of offer arrived – and it’s another big if, indeed the biggest of all – Cardinale wouldn’t even be convinced to sell, convinced/deluded that the stadium project could start, repaying what is owed to Ellliott.
“A no that Cardinale would keep until circumstances force him to do otherwise, a wait however at the expense of the time Milan needs. A stalemate. A crossing in the desert.”
Take anything Palmeri says with a MASSIVE and I mean MASSIVE grain of salt.
Wow, this guy makes all this so simple that if i was Cardinale i would beg for mearcey and camp in Saudi Arabia.
I happen to understand a bot in this domain and he is manipulating, speculating while he is drawing a picture and trying to present a story.
Im favt Cardinale needs new investment in yhe club that can come from many sources, including Eliot that are not foing to burn yhe castle rather maximise their gain if they can and Cardinale doesnt partner in US of A from his business connections whoch he has plenty
This is a normal practice. Get a loan for a purchase then look to refinance it. I don’t see worrying signs here. But it is true that PIF would want a majority stake eventually if Gerry were to sell a minority stake to them.
This so bs. This “journalist” stated that the value of Milan has increased by 33% in one year and he believes Cardinale is worried? I guess if he really is about pocketing the money he’d sell right this second. 33% return after one year is insane and if making money was your only goal then you’d take the extra 400M because you’ll never see a one year return like that again.
It doesn’t take away the fact Cardinale has a massive debt at monstrous interest rate to repay. With deadline approaching and some of his US of A investors already want to cash out, he has big problem ahead.
Still, it’s hard to believe but if true, 400 millions return in one year is sh*t load of money. He’ll never get 1.6 billion for the club as these potential Arab investors know Gerry’s in a rush to find money and can easily lowball him.
Well said. Everyone forgets that 600M loan @7% interest is 42M per year. That is a huge interest payment and if the loan is due in 2025 – how can Gerry repay without
additional investment or by selling at least a minority stake?
Palmeri said one thing right: “ Cardinale’s difficulty is therefore real: there will be a loan to be repaid with interest to Elliott, the stadium cannot be unlocked…”
All this talk of building a stadium is just talk. Why? Because as Palmeri said – Gerry doesn’t have the 1Billion it will take to build a stadium AND he already owes 600M plus interest that is due in 2025. So how can he do Both? Simple: he cannot.
There is one good thing Gerry/Redbird are excellent at and that is the PR SPIN. Until he pays off that loan by selling a minority stake in our club to do so – he cannot take on another BILLION dollars on debt to finance a new stadium. That would mean he would have 1.6B in debt PLUS interest – that is more than the club is currently worth. That would be insane and Gerry is not a dumb business man.
All smoke and mirrors. That stadium isn’t getting built anytime soon just as Palmeri said.
Pray the PIF buys him out 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼
I actually agree with dude. This seems off. This is not merely sponsorship money he’s looking for he’s looking for someone to invest a sizeable chunk in Milan but not have a say… which to me is incredibly difficult to achieve. OR it could mean he’s looking for an actual buyer seeing as the club’s value has increased and can capitalize on that. Otherwise why haven’t his own set of investors in the States jump on this wonderful opportunity? I have a feeling Gerry has overestimated the returns he would have gotten from buying Milan. In the US there’s money to be made. In Europe when you buy a football club it’s usually a money pit. Its a toy for rich people.