‘Cardinale’s Milan’ – Ibrahimovic given carte blanche to plan the future

AC Milan must focus on finishing the season in the best possible way on the field, but in the offices of Casa Milan planning is underway ahead of the summer and next season.

As La Gazzetta dello Sport (seen below) writes this morning, Milan must win against Sassuolo this afternoon to take advantage of another slip from Juventus, but they have an eye on the second leg against Roma on Thursday and the derby on 22 April.

The next 10 days or so will also tell a lot about the future of the team and Stefano Pioli in particular, the paper states, because the fate of the project depends on those games against Roma and Inter.

What is certain is that Zlatan Ibrahimovic will be at the centre of the project. The Swede will decide everything, from the mercato to the team, from the U23s to the fate of Pioli.

Whatever anyone says, the results will be decisive for the coach between now and the end of the season, in particular the return match against Roma on Thursday and the following match, the return derby against Inter.

In the specific case of the Europa League, the club would not willingly accept an exit against Roma, given they are 13 points behind in the league table, and then in the derby a sixth consecutive defeat would be another huge blow.

Ibra will work with Cardinale and will have carte blanche in the sporting area: his work will intersect with Giorgio Furlani’s economic management. There should be no other significant additions to the management structure.