On December 11, Harvard Business School released a document containing a fascinating case study on AC Milan, which also included contributions from key figures of the Rossoneri leadership, such as CEO Giorgio Furlani, who graduated from the prestigious U.S. institution in 2007, Technical Director Geoffrey Moncada, President Paolo Scaroni, and RedBird Senior Advisor Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
Of course, the contribution from Milan's owner Gerry Cardinale was also included, and his statements inevitably made the most noise, especially given the delicate moment the team is currently facing.
Controversy in Milan?
The interviews for this case study were conducted at the end of last season, but the time gap is irrelevant when such an attack occurs. The Corriere dello Sport picked up Gerry Cardinale's words about Inter ("They won the Scudetto last year and then went bankrupt: is this really what we want?!"), a jab that was not well received by the top brass at Inter, who have made it clear in response: the Nerazzurri club never went bankrupt and is consistently improving its financials, aiming for a balanced budget, which is also the goal of the current Rossoneri ownership.
Milan CEO Giorgio Furlani
The vision of Milan and the Milan project held by owner Gerry Cardinale could not coexist with that of Paolo Maldini. At least, this is what CEO Giorgio Furlani implied in his contribution to the Harvard Business School case study, when discussing the unpopular farewell of the historic Rossoneri captain. He said, "It was a historic decision to let him go, given what he meant for the club and his authority. But to realize Gerry's vision for the club, we had to change and move forward."
The Rossoneri executive also spoke about another departure that did not sit well with the Rossoneri faithful, that of Sandro Tonali, for which he even received death threats. However, Furlani attempted to explain the operation, stating, "Selling a player for 70 million euros is a great deal, but then, between purchases, sales, and resales, it all depends on how we structure the contracts," as relayed via Milannews.it.
