Milan Transfer Market: Cardinale’s Plan to Sign the World’s Best Players
Gerry Cardinale is reviving the project to bring Milan back to the top of Italian and European soccer. In a lengthy interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport, RedBird’s CEO reiterated his commitment to maintaining control of the Rossoneri and outlined strategies to make the club competitive with the major powers of international soccer, particularly Premier League clubs. These statements come on the heels of the launch of Milan Sports & Entertainment, the new holding company through which RedBird will consolidate and develop its investments in Milan across the sports, infrastructure, and entertainment sectors, with Milan at the heart of the project.
“I will never sell Milan. Never,” Cardinale assured, dismissing speculation about a possible sale of the club. The ambitions are significant, and the timeline, as intended by the ownership, must be short: “This is a project to get the club back to winning ways. I’m not willing to tolerate it taking a long time to achieve that. I want to do it as soon as possible. My goal is to win league titles consistently and, of course, return to the Champions League.”
One of the main objectives of the new holding company is to strengthen Milan’s financial position in the transfer market. Cardinale wants to put the club in a position to compete with Europe’s wealthiest clubs, even when it comes to signing top stars: “The driving force behind operations like this is to provide Milan with the financial clout needed to compete in the transfer market and secure the best players in the world,” explained the Rossoneri owner.
The funds are expected to come primarily from the development of the new stadium, the project for an arena in San Donato, and other planned initiatives, including possible participation in NBA Europe: “I’m doing everything possible to ensure that, when we want a player, no one can tell me: ‘You can’t sign him because you can’t afford him.’ Right now, only Premier League clubs are able to invest such sums and secure the top players.” The goal, therefore, is to narrow the financial gap with the leading international clubs and bring Milan back to the top of European competitions on a permanent basis.
