AC Milan's president, Paolo Scaroni, spoke at the Foglio Sportivo 2023 event. Here are his words relayed by tuttomercatoweb.com: "I was in a better mood last night before the match, that's football, what can we do... How do we give energy to Milan? I am sure we will have it back in the return leg, I don't consider the match closed. We are confident, not me but our coach Pioli says so. We look forward with confidence."
Confident?
"When you take care of a team, there are two mountains to climb, one of results and one of economics, which are connected. When I look back, I think we have climbed both of them for the most part. We are confident of qualifying again for the Champions League, from an economic point of view we have done very well, I hope we will close in profit thanks to the Champions League, we always have the stadium full. Everything is going in the right direction, it is the merit of those who manage the team and the company."
Can Napoli be an example to follow?
"They have a very strong team, even when they have lost they have played very well. They managed to win the Scudetto, have young and strong players and a profitable balance sheet, De Laurentiis is very good at getting everything a club would want."
The renewal of Leao?
"The renewal of Leao is in the hands of our CEO Furlani and Maldini. I don't know the details, but I see Furlani relaxed."
Yesterday, apart from the result, a great income... Scaroni said:
"Yes, income is the fuel of our activity. With a new stadium, for companies that use these great events for their clients and their consultants, tickets could be sold to companies for 5,000 euros each. I'm not talking about people, but about companies: being able to spend on special seats, where they can maybe shake hands with the protagonists, is not unthinkable."
What is Milan's Plan A for the stadium today?
"Did you ask Antonello the same question? We, as Milan, evaluate many possibilities. San Siro has big question marks, every step with the City Council makes everything economically less attractive. Apart from this, we have some questions that we will start to address soon. In parallel, we at Milan do not give up studying other hypotheses: we have a couple in mind, realistic, outside the common Milan area. We are also working on these, because we cannot limit ourselves to having only one hypothesis on such an important topic. Of course, building a stadium is a titanic experience: in any situation there are fierce oppositions that force you to take a step back."
But have you set a deadline?
"I believe a decision will be made by this summer."
The mayor seems to have ridden the Euroderby less...
"I don't know what the mayor did, I don't think he attended the Euroderby. Certainly, it was an important event and it gave us some prestige which I hope contributes to giving value to Serie A."
Scaroni on how is it possible to manage a football player like Charles De Ketelaere?
"I must say that I feel, within Milan, from those who deal with him, confidence that this acquisition will give us the results we expected from him. There is a Plan A, which is to add value to this acquisition. Patience is one of our virtues, our players are our heritage, and it has also happened with Tonali."
Why don't you give up the Milan presidency for that of Enel?
"Well, first of all, because I am a Milan fan. Milan gives unique emotions, and I don't want to give up these emotions. Then there is the stadium issue; we have to finish this path started in 2018. I still have many things to do and the desire to do them."
Scaroni on Zlatan Ibrahimovic:
"I think if he is doing well, he should continue to stay at Milan. He needs to be feeling good, but only he can say that. He likes it here; I see that when he is attending games, he is very involved, and he is a big Milan fan. If he is doing well and feels like it, then all is well."
