In the last few hours there has been a lot of talk about the fact that AC Milan, still without a sporting director, could turn to George Gardi, who might become the club’s new super-consultant. In this period of a power vacuum, he could help Bobby Gardiner and Jovan Kirovski start working with the new head coach Ruben Amorim on the transfer market and on building the new squad. But could Gardi be the right man for AC Milan?
Who is George Gardi?
First of all, let’s find out who George Gardi is: born in Florence on 30 May 1981, he graduated from the European School of Economics in Milan and later founded his own agency called 'Gardi Management'. Officially registered with the FIGC agents’ register, in recent years he has worked as a consultant for Galatasaray, handling major and complex deals that brought players such as Victor Osimhen, Mauro Icardi and Leroy Sané to Istanbul.
These are his best deals in Turkey:
- Victor Osimhen from Napoli to Galatasaray
- Mauro Icardi from Paris Saint-Germain to Galatasaray
- Lucas Torreira from Arsenal to Galatasaray
- Dries Mertens to Galatasaray after his years at Napoli
- Álvaro Morata from AC Milan to Galatasaray
- Nicolò Zaniolo from Roma to Galatasaray
- Hakim Ziyech from Chelsea to Galatasaray
- Leroy Sané from Bayern Munich to Galatasaray
- Mario Gomez from Fiorentina to Beşiktaş
- Marek Hamšík from IFK Göteborg to Trabzonspor
- Gervinho from Parma to Trabzonspor
- Samuel Eto’o from Sampdoria to Antalyaspor
- Bruno Peres from Roma to Trabzonspor
- Jeremy Ménez from Bordeaux to Antalyaspor
- Samir Nasri from Manchester City to Antalyaspor
These are top class players who, certainly, any football fan would want on their team, especially if they are looking to earn some prizes on 1win.
Why George Gardi can be useful to AC Milan:
What Gardi could bring to AC Milan is contacts, experience, and speed in negotiations both in and out, exactly what the Rossoneri club currently lacks, as its transfer market is completely blocked at the moment.
In an interview last November with Sky Sport Germany, Gardi described himself as follows:
"I started my career as a FIFA agent, then it developed into being an intermediary, especially for major international deals. Later it evolved into a market consultant for clubs and ownership groups. Now I would define myself as someone ready to step in when there is a need for market analysis, negotiation, squad building, or to follow and advise a player in his career. I have my own team of 5–6 people who constantly support me in this journey."
How did Gardi bring Osimhen to Galatasaray?
Speaking to Sky Sport Germany, Gardi explained how he managed to make something that seemed impossible happen: Victor Osimhen’s transfer from Napoli to Galatasaray, as pointed out via Milan News.
"At the end of the last transfer window, when I called the club and the coach to propose Osimhen, they thought it was a joke. They didn’t take me seriously! Victor Osimhen, one of the best strikers in the world, how could he wear the Galatasaray shirt at 26, how could Napoli let him go? Well, jokes aside, it became serious, the coach started taking me seriously, and it was the end of the window. Some said it was luck, a chance. No, it wasn’t that. Like with Icardi, like with Davinson Sánchez, like with Zaniolo. These players arrive at the end of the window but I constantly monitor every situation. The details. In the final days of the market anything can happen, I cannot miss anything. Once the Italian market closed, I immediately stepped in with a clear plan, with only a few hours to execute it. I reduced the clause from 100 to 75 million, I convinced Victor to extend his contract by one more year, and that opened the door to a loan deal."
"There were many issues, many problems. We were at the airport, the UEFA list was closing the next day, there were issues with Napoli’s contract, and we weren’t even sure whether it would be completed or not. We spent over two hours at the airport negotiating. In the end I succeeded. I was thinking, ‘what if in the end everything doesn’t go right?’ And then after a year… the clause was 75 million, but not the same 75 million as the previous year. The price of number nines had skyrocketed, and a striker like him for 75 million was a major deal for the club."
"That negotiation lasted many months because Victor had to choose where to play. He had the chance to choose among several major clubs in the world; only a few were reported in the press. He decided at the beginning of July, when his clause expired: ‘I will only play for Gala,’ he told us, and that helped us in the negotiation. The president and vice-president did an incredible job, paying 75 million in one year, something that made history. One of the best strikers in the world, owned by Galatasaray."
