‘The American dream’ – where Milan and Inter’s owners differ and what unites them

AC Milan and Inter’s American ownerships will be on opposite sides tonight in the derby, but there is plenty that unites them.

La Gazzetta dello Sport (as seen below) writes that not all American owners are the same, just look at the vast sample of Serie A. Investment funds are not all the same either: just look at the Milan derby with RedBird Capital and Oaktree Capital.

The two funds differ not only in terms of assets under management, strategies and business sectors, but also in terms of the role they play in football. Both are 100% owners, or thereabouts, of Milan and Inter respectively, but with a difference.

RedBird borrowed the money from the seller (Elliott Management) to complete the €1.2bn acquisition in 2022 and are still exposed for €489m as capital, after having repaid €170m and extended the deadline to July 2028.

Oaktree lent the money to the old owner (Steven Zhang of Suning) and, faced with the failure to repay €275m plus interest, called in the pledge by acquiring the Nerazzurri shares. All of this affects the way they run the club, and what the future holds.