AC Milan has confirmed that there is an agreement to shift ownership of the club from Elliott Management to RedBird Capital Partners. The process of transferring ownership of AC Milan will take place over the next few months and is expected to be completed in September. The transaction value of AC Milan’s acquisition of ownership reached 1.2 billion euros.
The big boss of RedBird, Gerry Cardinale, was already at the AC Milan office, Casa Milan, Milano, Italy on Monday (1/6/2022). Gerry Cardinale met with the management of the team such as Ivan Gazidis (CEO), Paolo Maldini (Technical Director), and Ricky Massara (Sports Director).
The new AC Milan boss has confirmed that he will maintain Elliott’s legacy management line which has proven to provide stability and success in the form of the 2021-2022 Italian League title. “RedBird’s investment philosophy and track record in team ownership shows that a football club can be successful on the pitch and be sustainable off the field,” said Gerry Cardinale, in an official release received from AC Milan.
RedBird is indeed very experienced in the business in the realm of sports. The investment firm founded by Gerry Cardinale in 2014 has owned 85 percent of Ligue 2 club, the second tier of the French League, Toulouse, since 2020. RedBird also owns a 10 percent stake in Fenway Sport Group (FSG), the consortium that houses Liverpool and the famous baseball team, the Boston Red Sox.
Gerry Cardinale’s commitment not to change the management structure of the previous ownership inheritance, certainly provides a sense of calm for Paolo Maldini. Paolo Maldini can start maneuvering in the transfer market. The Technical Director of AC Milan, who is a living legend for the club, is said to have compiled a shopping list.
Quoting from Corriere dello Sport, Lille midfielder, Renato Sanches, is Maldini’s top priority in the transfer market. Renato Sanches is set to fill the hole left by Franck Kessie who went to Barcelona. The Portuguese midfielder’s contract with Lille expires in June 2023, so the transfer fee can be somewhat suppressed.
Negotiations with Lille are not just about Renato Sanches. Maldini is said to be still exploring the opportunity to recruit a central defender from the Netherlands, Sven Botman. AC Milan have to compete with Newcastle and a number of Premier League clubs to get Botman which is estimated to be worth a transfer of 30 million euros.
The next investment that Maldini is trying to make will be aimed at strengthening the trio of spearheading supporters in Milan’s flagship 4-2-3-1 scheme. The names that emerged were Nicolo Zaniolo (AS Roma) and Domenico Berardi (Sassuolo). However, both players are priced high by their respective clubs. So, Maldini also needs to write an alternative name on his shopping list in the summer transfer market of 2022.
A young 21-year-old Belgian talent, Charles de Ketelaere (Club Brugge) has also emerged. Another youngster who is being targeted by Milan is River Plate midfielder Enzo Fernandez (21 years old). The appearance of these young names is an indication that the way Milan maneuvered in the transfer market in the era of RedBird ownership will not change much from before, when Elliott still controlled the club’s majority stake.
Indeed, one of the reasons why Elliott decided to release Milan into the hands of RedBird was because of a common vision. “RedBird, like us, believe in building a sustainable and successful club that will keep Milan financially solid and focused on the future,” read a letter from Elliott after reaching an agreement with RedBird.
