Five excerpts from Cardinale’s interview analyzed

AC Milan owner Gerry Cardinale has again stuck his head over the parapet, and his words – along with the rest of the management – have caused quite a stir.

First, some context is important. Back on December 11, Harvard Business School published a document containing a very interesting case study on Milan, in which the most influential and important people in the club were interviewed.

Managing director Giorgio Furlani – who graduated from the same institute in 2007 – was spoken to, along with technical director Geoffrey Moncada, president Paolo Scaroni and senior adviser Zlatan Ibrahimovic, among others.

Obviously, Cardinale’s words inevitably made the most noise because he is the captain of the ship. What we do know, however, is that the interviews for this case study were conducted at the end of last season, which is worth keeping in mind with some of the comments.

Still, chronological distance means little when the present is not so rosy, and with that sentiment in mind, we’ve decided to pick out some of Cardinale’s more striking quotes.

1. Against the grain

We start with the theme of consumption, and there will be more on that particular topic. Cardinale has previously stated that he has no intention of bankrolling Milan back into the elite because it would be irresponsible to do so.

In a rather interesting opening to his quotes in the investigation, he stated: “When we bought AC Milan, a lot of American sports team owners called me and said, ‘You’re crazy’. They said, ‘You can’t do business in Italy’ and ‘ It is impossible to make money in European football.’

“Most people who invest in sports clubs do so because they are emotionally invested. They put winning trophies above everything else and this often leads them to make the mistake of thinking that spending too much is linearly linked to winning to line up a team of stars. But that’s the worst thing you can do as an investor.”

In fact, he admits that for him AC Milan is a purely financial investment and he will not be drawn into getting too ’emotional’ with the money he spends. As he was warned by industry insiders, it is very difficult to do that in European football.

Cardinale has made it clear that he relishes a challenge, even if it means going against warnings. But when he talks about the difficulties he has faced in Italian football and the country’s bureaucracy in general, he can’t say he wasn’t warned. Sometimes your peers know what they are talking about.

2. To make war

It would be fair to say that we don’t hear too much from Cardinale, who prefers to communicate through statements in general or on stage at business events. His absence at the 125th anniversary match and party certainly created a mixed reaction as well.

Speaking to the media in Italy, he told HBS: “I stopped reading the papers here because they can just make it all up. I see this as a value chain with different components. The fans are doing their job, but the problem is, that most of the other components in the chain make it more difficult for us to offer the best to the fans.

“The media often do not help, and neither does the government. They recently took away the tax benefits we received when paying players and made it even more difficult for us to compete with other leagues. How does this help us? They should understand that football is one of Italy’s biggest exports.”

In potentially the strongest response given in the interview, Cardinale makes it clear that he doesn’t have much time for the Italian media. On the other hand, it probably also explains why we don’t hear much from him in the form of interviews in newspapers or on TV stations.

What exactly he is referring to when it comes to lies in the media is not specified, but it is clear that he has been upset by some of them. This climate of distrust has made it more difficult to communicate with the fans, in his words, because it limits the opportunities to do so.

Turning to the government, Cardinale echoes the sentiments of the likes of Furlani and Scaroni, believing they have taken some steps back since he has been at the helm. It hurts the product he’s trying to help the league sell globally, so his point is fair.

3. Checks and balances/

One of the topics that RedBird Capital has been very vocal about since day one is their desire to give Milan a new state-of-the-art home to play in, and naturally the owner was asked about the topic.

“But building stadiums in Italy is a challenge – the last stadium built in Italy was in 2011 and had 40,000 seats. I would like to see a modern stadium built with 70,000 seats, but we are not getting much help from the council to get planning approvals on our preferred site.

“And I’m still trying to deal with the mismatch between building an American-style stadium, which is likely to cost over €1 billion, and not being able to charge American-style. It’s a real challenge.”

The best thing you can do to get instant speed on the stadium issue is to read our latest Substack bonus article on the matter. It is also worth noting that Scaroni spoke three days ago and made another statement more contradictory words regarding the San Siro vs. San Donate duel.

Cardinale is naturally frustrated with how long the process is taking to get approval on either plan and groundbreaking, and we’re signing with him on this as well. And yet, when this ownership group has made this particular project the one they are most determined to deliver, the lack of progress is frustrating for fans.

What’s more worrying for fight-loving supporters is that Cardinale has once again made it clear that his vision is to move towards more expensive ticket prices (American style). Given the pushback that has already taken place against rising prices, this will not go down well, even in a new home, although compromise may be needed.

4. To play another game

Returning to the theme of spending, Cardinale once again drew a comparison with the field he is most familiar with – American sports – and Milan’s status as a historic soccer powerhouse.

“What Berlusconi did with Milan reminds me of what George Steinbrenner did with the New York Yankees. Both ‘bought’ titles (bought the best players in the world regardless of cost).

“In the 80s and 90s it was possible to do that, but now we can’t afford it anymore. We are competing with clubs in richer leagues and we cannot afford to pay the players what they pay them. We need to use every dollar of capital more intelligently than our rivals.”

These particular comments don’t need too much explanation. Indeed, Cardinale says that the glory days of 30 years ago, when Milan could compete financially with Europe’s elite, are over and now they are mostly trying to operate more efficiently.

Of course as fans, the idea of ​​spending every dollar (he probably means euros) better than the competition appeals. However, when the fixed budget is already perceived as unambitious, a ceiling is put in place which is not particularly high.

The level of Berlusconi’s spending is debatable, but what he did was set out on a mission to become Milan’s best ever owner, understanding that the way to make money was to spend money. Buying good players leads to trophies, a bigger club and more income in return. That model still applies as it did in the 1990s.

5. Fighting a losing battle

We had to save the best for last, and the most interesting piece from the interview was Cardinale’s open admission of the conflict between who he’s trying to please.

“For the fans, my job is to win the Italian championship every year – I understand that. For my investors, who are focused on bottom line appreciation, my job is to position AC Milan to challenge for the Scudetto every year, qualify for the Champions League every year and go as far as possible in the Champions League every year.

On the one hand, he is aware that the fans demand success, especially after the Scudetto victory two and a half years ago. RedBirds ownership in the eyes of the fans will be judged on trophies won, not the profits they come up with or if a stadium is even halfway finished.

On the other hand, he represents a group of investors who mainly care about AC Milan as a business asset, and his responsibility to them is to deliver financial results. In that sense, a top four finish and the occasional race in Europe ticks enough boxes.

What is worrying is that Cardinale has made it clear that he wants to satisfy his investors first and the fans second, and what that means is that the aim may never be to win the Scudetto every year, as a club with such a rich history deserves.

There is no recognition that a platform was in place to build from after the trophy was lifted in 2022, rather than having to build almost from scratch. Phrases like ‘cash flow’ and ‘brand value’ alienate fans who prefer to hear their club talked about as a living, breathing entity rather than a spreadsheet.

Cardinale’s comments are always polarizing and this is no exception. But what we will conclude by saying is that no previous preconceptions about his goals and RedBird’s ambitions as an ownership group have been disproved.