Speaking to Gazzetta dello Sport at great length, Giorgio Furlani shared his thoughts on the future of AC Milan, the rumours suggesting a big-player sale is on the cards and the recent investigation into the Rossoneri’s ownership.
It has been a rather strange season for Milan, currently sitting in second place and having made the quarter-finals of the Europa League. Yet, there is great disappointment among the fans and to an extent, probably the management as well.
In his long interview with Gazzetta dello Sport (see photo below), Milan CEO Giorgio Furlani spoke about the future and the upcoming summer transfer window. He made it clear that the Rossoneri will make targeted investments to perfect the team, suggesting that there will be some money involved.
You’re not a Milan fan by family tradition…
“My children are not granted this freedom, only Milan exists. Fond memories? Two above all, Weah’s solo run against Verona and Van Basten’s four goals against Gothenburg. Among the all-time champions, I put Savicevic and Papin, as well as the usual Van Basten and Baresi.”
As a Milan fan and CEO of the club, how do you cure the suffering of Inter’s probable second star?
“Obviously, we would have liked to win it first, we aim to do so next year. We’re not that far away after all: we’ve pulled the neck out of the water of a club that risked bankruptcy due to the Chinese ownership. Now we have to continue along the growth path to be permanently on par with the best in Europe.”
Can you do it in just one season?
“The goal was and always remains to win. We are still second. In the league, we have one point less than the Scudetto season and ten more than a year ago after the same amount of games. It means that we have improved the team, that we have a stronger starting base with good rotations.
“The new signings have brought 40 goals and rotation is no longer a problem. Last year we had to revolutionize the squad, this year not, we will have to perfect it. We will have the advantage of continuity to aim to win the league and move forward in Europe.”
So, calendar in hand: how long will it take Milan to win the next Champions League?
«If you ask Cardinale, he will tell you as soon as possible. He is in love with the club and he is the most determined. If you ask me what I want to improve on, it’s easy: winning. A year ago, we reached the Champions League semi-final, it hadn’t happened since 2007. This year we stopped in the group stage and it’s also a question of luck or bad luck in the draw.
“And then there is the Europa League, which we have never won: it is an important objective. I don’t know how long it will take, but I repeat: We brought the club back to the top of Serie A, also thanks to the leadership of president Scaroni. Today all the resources generated are reinvested to build an increasingly stronger team capable of fighting to win.”
Where do you think you can generate new revenue from?
“Certainly from the stadium. To be truly and consistently competitive in Europe, you have to keep up with other clubs., Without a stadium that is suitable for 2024, and not 1960, you are effectively operating incompletely. The San Donato project is the one we found most attractive, let’s continue along this path.
“Mayor Sala and WeBuild proposed the idea of a renovation project for San Siro, the details of which we do not know. We listened to the various options, but the main road remains San Donato. Times? Hypothesis 2028-2029, but I won’t go too far.”
The finish line isn’t just around the corner. So, in the meantime, how can you get back up?
“The sporting results have helped us fuel the economic ones and vice versa, after seventeen years we have a positive balance sheet. Revenues grew by 60% thanks also to the contribution of RedBird and Cardinale’s thirty-year experience in sport: Gerry cares a lot about results.
“Cardinale is the first to underline that there is no financial performance without sporting performance. He is an owner who participates in the life of the club on a daily basis, we talk every day and several times a day. Before going to sleep I ask myself: ‘Did I tell him everything about what happened today?’. Gerry is always on point, in contact with our entire work team, he wants his project to be an all-round success.”
On the investigation into the club’s ownership…
“We have zero fear of it, Milan’s owner has been RedBird since August 2022. Elliott has granted a vendor loan which is one of the many possible ways to conclude an operation of this magnitude. There is nothing hidden, everything is very transparent, and the facts are easily verifiable. It is right that the authorities do their duty, we remain fully cooperative.”
The papers say that the search for a minority shareholder is true. Are Milan opening the doors to a new shareholder?
“Given that the vendor loan, which is talked about a lot, expires in the second half of 2025, there is nothing imminent. There are no ongoing negotiations. In any case, control of Milan is and will remain with RedBird.”
There is a new man in the club and it is Zlatan Ibrahimovic: has he really taken command?
“On a formal level, Zlatan has no powers to decide anything, but our approach is not ‘formalistic’. There is a group that operates and decides in full collegiality. My relationship with Ibra is fantastic and I’m lucky to have him close to me. We are complementary, he is a man of the pitch, I’m a director. I cannot speak to Maignan in his language, Ibra can.”
Do you get the role as a cold numbers man?
“I care about Milan, I really care. I repeat, the conditions in which the club found itself have accentuated strong attention, responsibility and aversion in me. When I was offered the opportunity to be part of the company, I asked myself one question: ‘On my deathbed, will I regret doing this or not?’ I answered no. For me it’s not a question of career, there is only Milan: the club to which I’m linked today and forever. I’m not looking for the limelight in football, I will never go to any other club.”
In summary: will Ibra choose the players on the market and will you define the contractual aspect?
“Let’s not forget Moncada: Geoffrey is number one. Ibra himself is the first to turn to Geoff to exchange opinions on the players’ profiles. I don’t decide on the technical choice, but on the aspects connected and related to the investment: if you have €100m, you don’t pay €80m for a single player.”
Are you ready to spend €50m on the attacker?
“In football, we make the big mistake of thinking that the price corresponds to the value, but this is almost never the case. The footballer market is the most inefficient there is. We want to aim for value, which does not necessarily match the cost of the player. We have to find Pulisic, Loftus types… The budget itself depends on many factors: on how we finish the season and on the exit market.”
Will the new No.9 still team up with Leao or will you listen to any “crazy” offers?
«Rafa has a release clause of €175m but before that, he has the desire to stay at Milan. He’s fine here, he should be the one asking to leave but he really doesn’t want to. Long live Leao at Milan.”
Is the same true for Theo and Maignan?
“They have contracts until June 2026. There is talk of selling or buying but often, it is the players who decide their respective futures. Theo and Mike are two champions, we hope they stay with us for as long as possible and make a difference again.”
Like Pioli?
“Our season has been good so far, but just like last year, there was another team that went beyond expectations. Yesterday Napoli, today Inter. Pioli has a decidedly positive history at Milan, he brought the team back to the Champions League and won the Scudetto.
“He is often criticized but he has achieved important results. No one from the club has ever spoken about the bench being at risk. Now it would be ungenerous to evaluate him based on his future path in the Europa League or the outcome of the derby, however important it is.”
Do you also see a U23 team in the future, perhaps with Camarda as the protagonist?
“The reflections on the second team have been there for five-six years now, but the regulatory context remains complicated. Camarda is a boy who grew up in our youth sector, he has just turned 16 and we would like him to always remain with us and score many goals in the future with this shirt.
“He is a Rossoneri fan like me, I’m convinced that he wants to remain in an important sporting project. I want to point out that certain figures that have come out regarding hypothetical requests made are absolutely not correct, they are even offensive to the agents, to the boy and his family.”
Of course, the investigation into the ownership was never any worry for the club, as we were among the first to report on our Substack. On the other hand, this summer will say a lot about RedBird’s project for the club, and whether the presence of Zlatan Ibrahimovic will make a big difference.
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