Leonardo Nascimento de Araujo, former executive and coach of AC Milan and Inter, has spoken at the Festival dello Sport, where he shared his thoughts on how football clubs are managed today.
"There are different ways of investing", he said. "I believe in long-term projects, although in football, it’s becoming complicated to plan beyond two or three years, and in this environment, it’s difficult to execute a short-term project because many investors speculate."
Leonardo added:
"Over ten years, PSG has managed to build a solid brand. For example, Milan has had four different owners in the past ten years: this makes it difficult to build successful projects. Cases of presidents who manage a club for many years are increasingly rare. Reflecting on my own experience, it started with Silvio Berlusconi, an important figure for football and Italy."
On American funds, Leonardo said:
"In recent years, many American funds have decided to invest in football in Italy and Europe because it’s cheaper and more advantageous than doing so at home. However, these funds often lack high-level management, and they don't have the right managers. It’s difficult to work if you don’t know the local context, the tradition, and the history of the club you're in; it becomes hard to build a project for the team. Looking at the current state of football, we haven’t yet reached a concrete long-term situation. I haven’t seen an organisation better than those from the past. As for me, I don’t consider myself a great manager, just a former good player. However, over the years, I’ve learned a lot about football management. Multi-ownership? I’m not a big fan. Managing one club is already complicated, let alone more than one. With multi-ownership, there’s no return on money, and it takes away the opportunity for others to invest, creating a dangerous monopoly", he said.
Leonardo also spoke about AC Milan:
"Is Fonseca the right man for Milan? Who am I to say… He has just started, and all coaches need time; it sounds obvious, but it’s true. Would I return to Milan as an executive? I’m fine at home; I’m not really inclined to return to football like I did before. As a coach, it’s definitely out of the question, and even as a sporting director, after finishing with PSG, I decided I would take a different path, which will certainly still be in football because it’s my life, but in a different role. About Ibrahimovic and his new role, let’s just say I won’t respond."
