‘New AC Milan’: Major Boardroom Changes Imminent After Gerry Cardinale Decision
Elliott Capital Management will shortly step away from the club.
Sweeping boardroom changes at AC Milan are expected to be announced in a matter of days.
Gerry Cardinale To Refinance Debt, Milan Set For Change
According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, the club’s structure will take on a fresh look.
RedBird Capital, the fund owned by Gerry Cardinale, is set to refinance its debt with Elliott Management, which in turn will be replaced by Comvest, a private credit asset management platform based in Toronto.
The change is set to take place over the coming days and could therefore be in place by the start of February.
A board meeting held on Monday saw an agreement reached on the accelerated timeline. The restructure was initially pencilled in for the end of the quarter, in March, but has now been drastically brought forward.
As a result, the so-called ‘new Milan’ could be in place before the current transfer window closes.
What Do The Changes Mean?
President Paolo Scaroni, CEO Giorgio Furlani and CFO Stefano Cocirio will all remain in their roles. However, the Elliott-led board members will depart, making way for figures from Comvest.
This could see Gordon Singer and Dominic Mitchell, both put in place by Elliott, move on. Furlani was also appointed by Elliott, but is likely to stay in place.
According to reports in Italy, the club are determined to preserve continuity, having registered three consecutive profits on the books. Turnover and commercial revenues are also up.
Cardinale has been exploring options to repay the €489m debt, plus interest, granted by Elliott. It had been due in 2028, but Comvest will now step in, extending the repayment period until 2031.
They will also offer lower interest rates, a formula described as ‘common’ in this type of financial transaction.
Cardinale had purchased Milan in the summer of 2022 in a deal worth €1.2billion.
€600m was paid to Elliott while €550m was loaned to the buyer. Then, in December 2024, increased investment from RedBird reduced the debt to €489m, plus interest.
The looming boardroom changes underline Cardinale and RedBird’s long-term commitment to Milan.
Elliott had taken over the club in 2018 after the much-maligned former owner, Yonghong Li, defaulted on loan repayments he used to purchase the Serie A heavyweights from Silvio Berlusconi.
Cardinale was spotted in Milan for the first time in well over a year this month, with reports suggesting he had held meetings to confirm the hierarchy’s restructure.
Dan Davis
Dan is an experienced sports journalist and part-time lecturer. An expert on Serie A and Italian football, he has produced content for the likes of the Daily Mail, Reach PLC, GiveMeSport, FourFourTwo and GRV Media. While Channel 4's iconic Football Italia was a bit before his time, the nostalgia - and pastries - fuelled his love of all things Calcio.
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