"Words are important," Nanni Moretti would say. They are even more so in an era in which communication is an increasingly central aspect of our lives, and in which news travels at an incredible speed with the advent of social media and new technologies. Above all, they leave traces that are impossible to erase and therefore difficult to deny. If a high-ranking executive of a major Italian football club makes statements that are completely overturned by facts just a few weeks later, then the media short-circuit is total. And it raises, at the very least, questions about the actions of this executive and the direction the club is taking.
We don’t want to play hide and seek, and this is not a guessing game. That high-ranking executive is named Giorgio Furlani, and the club in question is Milan. Who, yesterday, officially sold Tijjani Reijnders to Manchester City for 55 million euros plus bonuses. Depriving itself of its best player from last season and one of the current team's reference points, ideally also for the years to come, but above all bringing back to the forefront the words—given in response to a direct and precise question—of the Rossoneri CEO: “Offers for Reijnders? Let’s focus on what to do to strengthen, not on sales, because mistakes have been made and we need to improve. There will be no need to make sacrifices in the transfer market, even without European competitions.”
That was on May 24th, just after the heavy protest by the Milan supporters a few hours earlier, before the final matchday of the season against Monza. In a San Siro that, after the first 15 minutes of the match, had largely emptied out and had responded with boos, chants of discontent directed at all the members of the management, and even some isolated demonstrations—like the fan who, turning toward the VIP stand, waved a Paolo Maldini jersey. In that precise moment, Giorgio Furlani presumably did not feel able to tell the truth about the Reijnders situation. Because it’s hard to believe that the negotiation wasn’t already set up for some time and that the situation came to a head in less than a month. That the absence from all European competitions in the coming season might have been a “pretext” for considering some sacrifice was certainly factored in, but the message that emerges from it is alarming.
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Milan, which has chosen to rely on two certainties in the Italian football landscape like the new sporting director Igli Tare and Massimiliano Allegri as coach for a fresh start, does not seem concerned with sending its supporters a reassuring or ambitious message. It’s curious that, with a U.S.-based ownership, theoretically very attentive to marketing and self-promotion, there was no attempt to soften the blow, to prepare the public differently for a loss of Reijnders’ magnitude. Perhaps by first identifying his natural replacement and “presenting” him before the sale of the former AZ Alkmaar player; or by choosing an approach more in line with reality and explaining the reasons why an operation—one that even from a purely economic standpoint is hard to understand—became necessary.
Because Reijnders was sold for a significant sum—55 million euros guaranteed, but with bonuses that could bring it close to 70—but not an unrefusable one. If you’ve had two consecutive seasons ending with a positive balance sheet, if the club’s revenue has increased—thanks also to a strategy that, commercially speaking, has yielded results—up to reaching 400 million euros, something doesn’t add up. Reijnders' departure will in fact not be the only one this summer, and the intense activity involving Maignan, Theo Hernandez, Musah (not to mention Tomori, Thiaw, and other players who could leave if satisfying offers arrive) is creating disorientation ahead of a season that Milan seems to be approaching once again by overturning much of the recent planning. A jump (with a parachute?) into the unknown, probably trying to provide Allegri with players more ready for the immediate term and more functional to his style of play. But still taking yet another risk, as relayed via Calciomercato.com.
The accusation leveled at the current management—at the parameters set by the top brass based in London and New York and carried out by a manager with consolidated experience in the field of investment funds like Giorgio Furlani—is that they continue to follow logics that have little to do with football and with the sporting management of a team. Logics that were pursued even when results were there, and certainly did not suggest the downward trend of this past season: Sandro Tonali was sacrificed on the altar of the market not because Milan had a real need to ensure financial sustainability. But because, viewing the squad as a set of investments, as soon as the “ideal” conditions to register a strong capital gain materialized, the choice was made to put that above everything else. A rationale which, in theory, would be easier to accept in difficult times like now, after a season poor in satisfaction and income. Provided that...
Provided that Certain dynamics are explained more clearly and thoroughly, but above all: sincerely.
And also Taking into account that some things may not be approved by all, or even by a large portion of the Milan fanbase, which is used to looking at the present and the future with different expectations, but has now come to terms with the idea that many issues in the Italian football system prevent our clubs from operating like top foreign teams do. A more frugal management style, one that still includes the ability to really sell some top assets well and then quickly and wisely reinvest the proceeds, is possible. It's even acceptable. But it must be explained. Because in today’s football, “white lies” risk only complicating the picture and creating detachment.
