Gerry Cardinale has outlined an bold imaginative and prescient for Italian soccer, expressing his want to satisfy Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni to construct a joint plan for revitalising Serie A, whereas additionally revealing the appreciable frustrations he has encountered in attempting to construct a brand new stadium in Italy in comparison with his native United States.
Chatting with the Monetary Occasions over lunch at Milanello, simply days earlier than Milan’s derby victory over Inter, the RedBird Capital founder and Milan proprietor was candid concerning the cultural and political boundaries he has confronted since buying the membership.
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“Within the US I may do it with my eyes closed,” he stated of , with .
“Right here there are linguistic, political and cultural boundaries. I’m constructing a stadium and I would like it to be an Italian product, Italian banks financing it, Italian firms competing for naming rights, Italian commerce and hospitality surrounding it. Within the States I may do it with out considering. Right here it’s not my ecosystem.”
epa10157496 AC Milan proprietor Gerry Cardinale (R) earlier than the Italian Serie A soccer match between AC Milan and FC Inter Milan at Giuseppe Meazza stadium in Milan, Italy, 03 September 2022. EPA-EFE/ROBERTO BREGANI
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Milan proprietor Cardinale: ‘Let’s make Serie A one in all Italy’s biggest exports’
Regardless of these frustrations, Cardinale’s long-term ambition for the membership and for Italian soccer extra broadly stays undimmed.
“I wish to attain the purpose the place, if I’ve constructed sufficient credibility, I can go to Rome, sit down with Meloni or whoever else, and say: let’s construct a plan to relaunch Serie A,” he stated.
“Let’s make Serie A one in all Italy’s biggest exports.”
It’s a daring and genuinely thrilling imaginative and prescient, and one which, if realised, may have profound implications for Italian soccer’s standing.