The prestigious Harvard Business School has published a 24-page document analyzing the case of AC Milan, where Giorgio Furlani, an alumnus of the American institution, serves as the CEO. The text examines the club's project since Gerry Cardinale's arrival, featuring insights from various figures within the ownership and management structure.
Below are the statements from AC Milan's owner, Gerry Cardinale, [as relayed by MilanNews.it].
On the purchase of AC Milan:
"When we bought AC Milan, many American sports team owners called me, saying: 'You’re crazy.' They told me, 'You can’t do business in Italy,' and 'It’s impossible to make money in European football.' Most people who invest in sports teams do so because they are emotionally involved. They prioritize winning championships above everything else, often making the mistake of thinking that overspending on star players is directly correlated with winning. But that’s the worst thing you can do as an investor."
On winning the Serie A title in 2022:
"The passion of the fans was incredible. I had never seen anything like it. I sent photos to my team in New York and told them, 'You better be ready.'"
"We acquired (Milan) at a valuation of 3.6 times the club's revenues; the new Chelsea FC owners purchased their club at a multiple of seven times revenues, including the earn-out. I brought in the New York Yankees for a small minority stake due to our longstanding partnership and our desire to bring the best practices of U.S. sports to Italy. I believe AC Milan has the potential to become a 5 billion euros company."
On choosing Giorgio Furlani as CEO:
"I could have hired someone with a background in European football. But Giorgio thinks like we do at RedBird. He, like Stefano Cocirio, is somewhat unique in European football: young, free from doing things because 'that's how they've always been done,' with an investor's mindset, Italian but educated and trained in the U.S. and U.K. I realized that the most important aspect of the CEO role in European football is financial accountability and the ability to integrate on-field and off-field performance. Bringing disciplined financial sophistication to the player transfer market and maintaining positive cash flow is central to our investment thesis, and that’s where Giorgio comes in. His limitation is that he is not a CEO—he managed about four people at Elliott, whereas at Casa Milan we have 260. So, I found it intriguing to approach this not as a typical private equity search for a CEO but to create a 'CEO office' under my direction, bringing together the various disciplines needed to evolve European football ownership: Giorgio, Stefano (Cocirio, Milan CFO), Geoffrey Moncada, Zlatan Ibrahimović, and my team at RedBird. Each of us brings something to the table, and we are all part of an integrated team. I’m not throwing Giorgio to the wolves."

On Zlatan Ibrahimović:
"Most people would consider his appointment a 'showpiece' or think of me as an owner obsessed with celebrities. It’s the exact opposite: I’m looking for world-class individuals who can make us better. With Zlatan, I wanted to establish that we will do things differently because there is a legitimate need for innovation to better manage these assets. So, I hired him for RedBird as an operating partner and as a senior advisor for ownership at Milan."
On media pressure, Cardinale said:
"I’ve stopped reading the newspapers here because they can simply make things up. I see this as a value chain with different components. Fans do their part, but the problem is that most other parts of the chain make it harder for us to deliver the best for the fans. The media often don’t help, and neither does the government. Recently, they removed tax benefits we received for player salaries, making it even harder to compete with other leagues. How does this help us? They should understand that football is one of Italy’s greatest exports."

On the late Silvio Berlusconi:
"What Berlusconi did with Milan reminds me of what George Steinbrenner did with the New York Yankees. Both were 'buying' championships (acquiring the best players in the world without regard to expense). In the '80s and '90s, that was possible, but we can’t afford that anymore. We’re competing with clubs from wealthier leagues, and we can’t pay players what they do. We have to spend every dollar of capital smarter than our rivals."
On the sale of Sandro Tonali:
"We didn’t sell him to Newcastle United because we needed to—we sold him because we received an excellent offer and conducted a risk-reward assessment. We earned €70 million (including bonuses) plus a €10 million earn-out, the highest figure ever in Serie A. And thanks to that sale, we bought six new players and completely revamped the squad. We don’t sell out of necessity—we sell opportunistically. If we remain disciplined, there will always be market counterparts allowing extraordinary returns for players."
On the stadium, Cardinale said:
"We could significantly renovate our existing stadium or build a new one that reflects the current status of these clubs as live entertainment companies. For what renovation would cost, we could likely build an entirely new stadium. But building stadiums in Italy is challenging—the last one built in Italy was in 2011 and had 40,000 seats. I’d like to see a modern stadium with 70,000 seats, but we’re not receiving much help from the municipality to get zoning approvals at our preferred location. I’m also still grappling with the disconnect between building an American-style stadium, which will likely cost over €1 billion, and the inability to apply American-style pricing. It’s a real challenge."
On his project at AC Milan:
"I’m not trying to Americanize AC Milan. I’m trying to introduce some American elements that can constructively elevate Milan to the next level. I’m also focusing more attention on Serie A. I’m curious to see how we can help them negotiate international media deals. In the U.S., there’s a different relationship between team owners and leagues. Here, there are more layers—Serie A, the Italian Football Federation, UEFA, FIFA... That’s the learning curve for me. Back home, I could have done all this with my eyes closed."
What are the short- and long-term goals for AC Milan? Gerry Cardinale said:
"Winning championships is obviously an important goal. But you have to balance that with 'winning smartly.' Inter won the Scudetto last year and then went bankrupt (referring to the insolvent former owner, not the club itself). Is that really what we want? For the fans, my job is to win the Serie A title every year—I understand that. For my investors, who focus on end-value appreciation, my job is to position AC Milan to compete for the Scudetto every year, qualify for the Champions League every year, and go as far as possible in the Champions League every year. This is what maximizes cash flow and brand value. It’s consistency and reduced performance volatility that maximize value and, ultimately, longevity."
