AC Milan's CEO, Giorgio Furlani, has spoken to Sportico.com in an interview. Here are his words, as relayed by Calcio e Finanza:
"My original plan was to be the center-forward of the team, but I wasn't good enough, so I had to embark on this career path. I am extremely lucky and privileged, and I have a great responsibility towards the fans like 13-year-old Giorgio. I am from Milan and a Milan supporter. My career had nothing to do with football until 6 years ago; I became a board member of the club, and now I am the CEO. So, I am fortunate and happy, and I strive to do a good job."
Furlani continued:
"There are similar elements to what I used to do as a portfolio manager at Elliott, such as trading and structuring deals. I was a board member for a few years and was very involved. As my predecessor would say, I was a bit too annoying of a board member. I learned from him and my colleagues. And I hope I've arrived prepared enough to fulfill this role."
On Christian Pulisic:
"We signed him because he is an extraordinary player; we needed a player like him, and we know he will make a difference. It's important to emphasize that. This is the main reason we acquired him. Obviously, he is one of the best players in the US National Team, the best, now that he's our player. The US has noticed this acquisition: there has been an explosion in numbers, from an e-commerce point of view, 90% of Milan shirts sold in America are Pulisic's number 11. It's a significant effect, and there will be much more. We are very fortunate to have him because he's a great player, but he will also help us become even more relevant in the USA. We didn't acquire him because we wanted extra revenue from the USA, but he's a good guy, very well-known in his country. When we arrived in the USA with him, it was a huge thing. It's an extra benefit, but we acquired him because he's very talented; that's the's the number one reason he's here."
On the partnership with the Yankees, Furlani said:
"The Yankees are partners of the club, and so far, they have been extraordinary. The first thing we did was distribute Milan content on the Yes Network. Then, we integrated our merchandising and retail activities: so, we sell some of our products at the Yankees Stadium, and they do the same in Milan. We have a joint task force to study how to work together best. This year we played in Los Angeles and Las Vegas, maybe next year we could play at the Yankees Stadium. There are no limits to what we could do together. They are one of the most important sports brands, and we would like to say the same about ourselves; it's a good match, and many exciting things can come from it."
On RedBird:
"RedBird is the epicenter of the convergence between sports, media, entertainment, and culture. We are part of their assets; they have other companies in these sectors. We are starting to work on some joint ventures with these other companies. I don't want to give previews yet, but there are some very exciting things we are working on. They have been great in facilitating our working relationship with other companies, and some really nice things will be produced. So, stay tuned."
Furlani on the lessons he learned...
"The lessons I have learned in my career? Number one: hard work matters more than intelligence and talent. I have learned this in my career. In real estate, they say 'location, location, location,' for me in business, it's 'preparation, preparation, preparation.' So, working hard to be prepared is important. Number two. There is no 'I' in team. Number three. You must have a strategy, have a long-term vision, and focus on these, even if it means making difficult and painful short-term decisions. Number four. Business is about people. And people need to be motivated. Finding the right incentive to make people perform better is the key."
