AC Milan president Paolo Scaroni spoke at a business event. At a business event today, AC Milan president Paolo Scaroni discussed the club’s change in ownership as well as the future of the league in terms of new stadiums and TV right.
Today’s M&A Summit, hosted by Il Sole 24 Ore, featured a speech by Scaroni on the topic of “Mergers and acquisitions in Italy, significant investors, the sectors concerned, and protagonists of the industry.”
Given that Napoli’s president Aurelio De Laurentiis was also present on stage, he spoke briefly on the impending Champions League match with Napoli, and MilanNews reported on his remarks.
“I largely concur with De Laurentiis’ statements. Because I’m from a society where success is valued above all else, De Laurentiis has created enormous value with Napoli. Then, with regard to funds, he will comment on that 5%,” he started.
“Elliott found themselves the owners of Milan since they had provided money to the old shareholder, they hadn’t pursued the purchase of the club; they had it as a guarantee,” said one commentator of the transfer of AC Milan from Elliott to RedBird.
AC Milan president Paolo Scaroni spoke at a business eventÂ
“They, therefore, gave the task of returning Milan to a state of economic and later sporting balance to professionals, and all of this was unexpectedly successful, particularly in terms of the sporting outcomes. The Scudetto is not my fault; it was won due to the excellent employees.
“In terms of the economy, we did well. In order to safeguard the money Elliott had provided, Yonghong Li and I served on the AC Milan board. At the time, we had sales of less than $200 million; this year, they will reach $350 million.
Elliott made a profit characteristic of hedge funds and sold Milan to a fund with different goals, a professional in the sport, with interventions and growth measures for Milan other than Elliott in mind. This resulted in Elliott’s satisfaction.
“This is a new stage. Many experts who can assist us are all around us. We have a positive outlook on the future. In football, there are two mountains to climb at once: the mountain of athletic results and the mountain of commercial outcomes. These two mountains are intertwined, and we must maintain equilibrium between them.
Regarding television rights, I concur that managing our clients would be preferable to selling anything. Lega Calcio handed a man who handled all the television rights for decades, so there was never a question of “Is this competency” within the Lega.
“The Lega’s governance is so convoluted for historical and logical reasons that it is difficult to grasp how to get involved in these matters. I’m not even here daydreaming about the money coming in…
“Every so often I hope that the introduction of some finances, perhaps with a loan, is a catalyst for us to be given simpler governance than the one we have lived with for so many years,” the speaker said.
Regarding the new stadium, it is difficult to translate our habits when there is an American stakeholder. To people who have never experienced Italian stadium dynamics, I find it difficult to convey them.
Suddenly, when everything appears to be going well, there comes a TAR appeal, and the times are tremendous. When I started discussing stadiums four years ago, even seemingly obvious issues generated discussion.
Why is it impossible to reform San Siro? What are you referring to? It’s an old and outmoded item, but it’s not the Scala del Calcio. Ever been to a stadium? San Siro cannot be renovated.
How can you perform extensive repairs in a stadium where at least 50,000 people enter every three to four days when Milan and Inter play so many games? Unfortunately, there isn’t a stadium nearby Milan where we can play throughout the necessary construction time.
“We cannot, therefore, repair the San Siro, and there is still discussion about this today, which I find unbelievable. We have a law that prevents us from doing anything regarding stadium construction.
“We need an emergency statute to force us to get beyond these barriers; otherwise, we’ll always have dated, risky stadiums. Stadiums must be stunning, well-lit, and packed. Also, the stadium helps television viewers.
