Cardinale discusses Milan’s €5bn potential, Tonali sale, new stadium and aims for the club

AC Milan owner Gerry Cardinale has spoken about the process of buying the club and how he has found his first couple of years in charge.

Cardinale’s name has been in the headlines a fair bit recently, given his absence from the 125th anniversary celebrations and the fact that fans protested by telling him to sell the club.

Not only that, but there has been a change to the vendor loan terms. After reports circulated in the media suggesting a possible refinancing, it was announced on Friday that the repayment deadline has been pushed back to 2028.

The RedBird Capital founder and number one rarely speaks about Milan but when he does there is often interesting insight, and now he has spoken at length again about the challenges faces.

The prestigious Harvard Business School has published a 24-page document in which it analyses Milan. Inside it is an interview with Cardinale, with his comments relayed by MilanNews.

On the process of buying Milan…

“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’s impossible to make money in European soccer.’ Most people who invest in sports clubs do it because they’re emotionally invested.

“They put winning trophies above everything else, and that often leads them to make the mistake of thinking that spending too much to field a team of stars is linearly related to winning. But that’s the worst thing you can do as an investor.

“We bought it for a figure that corresponded to 3.6 times the revenues of the club; the new owners of Chelsea FC bought it for a multiple of seven times the revenues when you consider the earn out.

“I brought the New York Yankees with me for a small minority stake, given our long-standing partnership with them and our desire to bring the best practices of American sports to Italy. I think Milan has the potential to become a €5bn company.”