Disappointed fans, a swirl of rumors about the sporting director and coach, a derby that could grant a Coppa Italia final as the only, partial, consolation. On planet Milan, life is made only of strong emotions. President Paolo Scaroni gives the compass to navigate.
President, what would you like to say to fans who see the club dealing with yet another rebuild?
"That surely this is a season that leaves a bitter taste in our mouths — for everyone, and especially for me, as I have always said that qualifying for the Champions League was a mandatory goal. Today, now that we see it far away, we cannot be satisfied. However, there is also something positive: we brought home a trophy by beating two important teams, and we are still in the running for the Coppa Italia. It’s not enough, obviously, but I can promise the maximum commitment from everyone so that next season brings satisfaction. We are already at work," he told La Gazzetta dello Sport in an exclusive interview.
Can we translate this satisfaction into objectives? You know what they say: that you’re content with aiming for Champions League qualification.
"There is no doubt that the international sphere — I’m talking about the Champions League, the other Cups, and the Club World Cup — is the minimum Milan must settle for. And I must say that if we look twenty years into the future, the greater attention to international competitions will be inevitable — it's a phenomenon affecting all sports. But this does not mean that we are not aiming to win league titles, quite the opposite."
The rebuild involves strengthening the club, including filling the still-vacant sporting director role. Between applications received and those that faded, can you help clarify things?
"As I said, we are not satisfied with the sporting results. We were very active on the market — no one signed as many players as we did — and now we also want to strengthen the management. I won’t go into specific names, I only observe that I read many names that don’t come from us: I get the impression that they are self-candidacies spread by those who want to come to Milan."
From the sporting director to choosing the coach for the future, the step is short.
"Our coach is Sergio Conceição. In the Coppa Italia derby, I saw a gritty team, the kind we fans like. I believe that grit is exactly what our coach has transmitted to the team. Even our ability to come back from losing positions shows that."
Another thing being said about Milan is that there are divisions between CEO Furlani and super consultant Ibrahimović. And that it’s not clear who does what.
"Look, I see them working together at Casa Milan and they get along perfectly. The roles are clear: Ibra is part of RedBird's management and is 'loaned' to Milan. He was criticized for being absent, but he was ill. I’ll repeat myself: he is added value. He was a champion on the field and he is one off it as well. He will definitely remain in this project. But I want to insist on one point: people are important, but Milan comes before everything else. And we are all aware of that."
Which players should be the starting point? And as a fan, who excites you the most?
"When Leão is switched on, he excites all the fans — myself included. Then it's always tricky to name names, but for consistency in performances, I’ll mention two: Pulisic and Reijnders, who I believe have won everyone over. Not by chance, we want to keep them with us for a long time."
Has Gerry Cardinale been discouraged by criticism from the environment? Scaroni replied:
"On the contrary, he is more determined than ever to win — like all of us who work at Milan and are fans. Even if he is not here every day, Cardinale dedicates many hours of his day to Milan. RedBird has already brought the club to record revenues, more than doubled in the last four years (from 192 to 457 million — all reinvested into the club) and with his expertise, he has been extremely helpful for the stadium project. Certain protests against someone who invested 1.2 billion to buy the club are not the best way to support us."
But is Gerry Cardinale’s vision of an international club, seeking synergies with other worlds, compatible with the reality of Italian football?
"As I said, RedBird has already been fundamental for Milan. It’s true that it looks to fans around the world (we can count on 500 million enthusiasts), and on the board we even have the Yankees president — just to cite one of our synergies — but our starting base is the fans who come to the stadium. We are the club with the highest average attendance in Serie A, with 71,000 spectators, and the fans remain at the center of our efforts. RedBird’s plan is one we all share, but like for everyone, sporting results are the absolute priority. They are the foundation on which everything else rests."
To take a leap in quality, a suitable stadium is needed: are you optimistic that this might finally be the right time for a new San Siro?
"I must say yes, I am. And do you know why? Because it’s no longer just the project of Inter and Milan, but also of the city administration. After six years spent personally working on this matter, I can only appreciate this broad consensus. On the project, we and Inter are aligned because we have similar needs, the same number of attendees at the stadium, the same need to have premium seating that meets the needs of companies — which also allows us to keep prices accessible for everyone else. Now there’s a shared will to build a beautiful stadium, finally worthy of the city of Milan. And let me add — one that allows us to have a space for families, accessible to all and safe from criminal infiltrations."
Inter and Milan have joined the civil action in the trial against the ultras. Scaroni commented:
"Of course — we, along with Inter and the Lega Serie A, are also united in wanting to put an end to certain phenomena that have discredited our institutions."
Speaking of Inter — how do you feel about the city rivalry and the Nerazzurri’s strength?
"I don’t experience the rivalry with Inter in such an extreme way, and my children tease me a bit: 'Dad, you didn’t go to elementary school in Milan,' where, indeed, the rivalry is very intense. And it's true — being a fan is always a matter of emotions. I would like to win every match, but I must admit that the wins I prefer are the derbies."
The lack of modern infrastructure is just one reason why Serie A is less competitive. What are the others?
"The stadium issue is perhaps the easiest to solve. I’ll name three others. Almost all Lega meetings focus on selling international TV rights. Here we earn a tenth of what the Premier League does and a third of what La Liga earns. The most obvious solution would be to have stars like Messi and Ronaldo, who for ten years were the perfect testimonials of La Liga — but as you can understand, it’s not an easy path."
And the other two?
"The issue of sports betting: in three years, the volume has increased almost 30 times, yet football receives nothing. I must say we’ve had positive responses from the government so that we’re granted a percentage of 'copyright fees', in addition to the abolition of the dignity decree. Lastly, piracy: there's an extremely modern law, but it’s applied only to those organizing the scam — not to the users. Those who use illegal streaming don’t realize they're harming their own team. To paraphrase Kennedy: the fan should not only ask what their team can do for them, but also what they can do for their team."
