Criticisms aimed at the AC Milan owners over a perceived lack of investment of the squad are wide of the mark, according to one journalist.
Fans and sections of the media have begun an inquest into the summer market that followed the Scudetto win last season, with a large amount of it suggesting that the signings of Divock Origi, Charles De Ketelaere, Aster Vranckx, Sergino Dest, Malick Thiaw plus the returns of Yacine Adli and Tommaso Pobega were not enough for a team that were celebrating being champions.
Not only that, but there has also been a lot of attention on the fact that Gerry Cardinale – the owner of the club as of last August – has not been very present nor has he publicly explained his ideas for a few months.
Pietro Mazzara has written a column for MilanNews in response to the recent wave of criticism that has been aimed at Elliott Management and/or RedBird Capital for what they have invested (or haven’t invested) in the squad.
“‘We need to invest more’, ‘RedBird doesn’t spend and thinks only of profit’, ‘How do you have a summer transfer market with only 50 million spent?’, ‘Where is Cardinale?’. These are four examples of the grievances aimed at RedBird Capital and Gerry Cardinale,” he begins.
“Arguments from the end of the sports bar, because despite everything that is happening with the capital gains case, we still run into these assessments that could have been made when Berlusconi was at the head of Milan.”
“Milan, in the 2021 and 2022 summer transfer market sessions, invested a total of 120 million with very little cash return. The 2021 window was more profitable than last summer’s, there is no doubt that it was richer. But Milan were the only Italian club to put real, sound money on the market.
“The path of the four years under Elliott has led the club to a recovery of accounts and an increase in turnover, but the recent renewals have also raised the level of personnel costs. Basically, Milan spend what they can spend without creating budget chasms.
“Is it a topic we like to talk about? When needed. It is necessary for the fan to understand that the club cannot go back to burning cash and getting into debt by screwing up the whole process. Like it or not, Milan are managed like a club that has to produce profits and until it crosses the threshold of 400 million in revenues, without making major sales, it will have the road marked on its spending capacity on the market.
“The fact that Cardinale can (and must) be a little more present both physically and in the media (perhaps a press conference where you can ask him questions?) is a fair admonition and one that I feel like subscribing to. Just as a few million more budget wouldn’t hurt. On the contrary.”
TLDR, Redbird is broke
“How do you have a summer transfer market with only 50 million spent?”
Ask Napoli. You know the team on top who broke the record for most points EVER after the 1st half. Or ask Chelsea why they didn’t break the record in EPL even though they’ve now spent 450M€ in two mercatos since the new owners.