The new era of Milan begins on Thursday 13 June after Pioli’s five-year term which ended with the 2023/24 season. Number one Gerry Cardinale has put the Devil in the hands of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, appointed Senior Advisor and responsible for speaking to the press for the first time as manager of the Rossoneri club. Here are his words live from 11.40am: “After six months I’ve already got gray hair, it means I’m working. After 20-25 years in football you have more freedom, I have two children to whom I’m dedicating time that I couldn’t dedicate to them before because of the matches, the travel, the hotels. After six months of being out of action, Furlani called me and it all started. Then I spoke to Cardinale, just me and him, he proposed that I return to Milan, to be a partner of RedBird. I told him “if I have to return to Milan the project must be a winning one”. I don’t accept losing, it’s not that I don’t like it, I don’t accept it. I want to win and I will win. Cardinale replied: “Welcome”.
CARDINAL – “He’s a winner, he’s ambitious like me. He wants to create a project that can work now and in the future, in the long term. I told him: ‘I’m the right man for you’.”
ROLE – “My role is simple, I am an operating partner of RedBird, I speak with Cardinale and I collaborate with Moncada and Furlani. It is not a one man show, I work with everyone in Milan, from Milanello to Vismara. We are a team.”
MARKET – “The next step is to strengthen the team, to be more competitive. We want to win trophies, in Italy and in Europe, because we are Milan. The ambition is to fight for trophies every year. Milan doesn’t win, Milan makes history. Whoever joins Milan must have the same ambition. Anyone who is already inside Milan and doesn’t think like this won’t have space. We are not satisfied with last season, we agree with the fans. We want more. We shouldn’t put limits on ourselves.”
STRATEGY – “I am optimistic, I am positive. We have a group of managers who are hungry. We have a plan that we are following, we are confident in what we do. We have a strategy. The future is positive. Everyone does this job for Milan, there are no personal objectives. Everything we do is for Milan and for the best. We are working, even if there is silence. We don’t talk but that doesn’t mean we don’t work. We are not a podcast or a talk show.”
RUGS – “I want to say thanks to Pioli, from me and from the club. He made history, he deserves all the compliments he got.”
FONSECA – “He will be the new coach, it was a thoughtful, studied choice. We want Milan to be able to play dominant football. We studied how he coaches, how he prepares matches. After 5 years we needed something new. Fonseca is the right man, we believe in him a lot. He’s the right man.”
NEW NUMBER 9 – “Last year Milan made a great transfer, we needed to lay the foundations. This market will focus above all on details. After Giroud’s departure, we need a new number 9. Jovic is there, but we are looking for a new striker. Zirkzee is a strong player, he comes from a great season. He comes from the Netherlands, whether he is another Ibra or not… I don’t want to make comparisons. There is a big difference between reality and what is said and written.”
LOPETEGUI – “Every day there was a new name in the newspapers. Furlani wanted a coach, Ibra another, Cardinale another. Fans another. There are rumors and then there is reality”.
FONSECA – “Every day we talk, we share the strategy, including the under 23s, which must be linked to the first team. He has his desires, he wants to improve the team. Next year we will play for 4 trophies, we all have the same ambitions. A club like Milan must have a competitive team. Our responsibility is to put the coach in the best conditions.”
WITH YOU – “We studied the type of coach to choose, the approach, the type of game. Fonseca convinced us, he is ambitious, he wants to do well and improve. We have chosen a coach, not a manager“.
WHY MILAN DIDN’T CHOOSE CONTE
MAIGNAN AND THEO – “Maignan, Theo and Leao remain. They have a contract with us, they are happy. We don’t have to sell. We have the possibility of bringing in strong players. We want to bring in a striker, but the market is every day. There are scouting reports and phone calls every day. For us the player’s profile is important, a player can be the best in the world, but if he doesn’t have a Milan profile it’s not good for us.”
NEGOTIATIONS – “I don’t want to talk to the prosecutors, I’m part of the old school. I am direct, unlike Furlani and Moncada I have less patience. I’m still black or white“.
ITALIANS – “There are Italian players on our transfer list. Are there no AC Milan players in the national team? Gabbia deserved to be called up.”
COMMISSIONS – “When it comes to negotiations, there are those who want to exploit situations, make requests, thinking that the club is under pressure. But it must be ok for us: we have to say it’s ok. The commissions must be ok for us, it’s a negotiation as it normally is. It’s not a charity. It must be good for the club, which makes its assessments.”
THEO AND MAIGNAN RENEW – “These are internal things, everything is possible. Then I don’t know about their requests. We look at the situation and evaluate it. Then everything is possible. Since RedBird entered the results are positive and it gives us the possibility to expand further and do more economically. We can do something more, respecting our strategy, the parameters. Someone comes to me and says: “I don’t want to stay here” it’s a problem. Theo and Maignan are happy, they have made history and they want to continue doing so“.
INVESTORS –“I haven’t spoken to investors. It hasn’t been discussed.”
NEW ATTACKER – “Black or white, there is no grey. We don’t do charity. There is a list of attackers that we study and look for. A club like Milan doesn’t target one player: there are options and then you have to understand what’s best for the club, team, Fonseca. Then I want to see the attacker face to face: there are 80,000 at San Siro whether they boo you or not. There are so many factors that come into play.”
EXPERIENCE – “Next year’s team will be even younger, it’s important to have a coach who brings out the best in young people. Without Kjaer and Giroud the average age will drop, we will lose two leaders, which is why Fonseca’s role is important.”
MESSAGE TO THE FANS – “I say to the fans that the future is bright. As long as I’m here I’ll do everything to win”.
FONSECA AGAIN – “For us Fonseca is the top coach, otherwise he wasn’t a Milan coach. I can tell the fans that something new is coming, a different kind of football than before: dominant, offensive, with balance for the defence. It will be another energy, it will be another face on the bench: one was bald and the other has more hair but always with elegance.”
CAMARDA – “At his age he is more talented than me. For Milan he is very important, we must protect him, make him grow. He is very hungry, he wants to improve. With him you have to take one step at a time, he can become a flag for Milan. A club like Milan must have a strong youth sector and build first-team profiles.”
