Once a dominant force in football with seven European titles and a golden age under Silvio Berlusconi, AC Milan is now fighting for its footing. The club recently disclosed a staggering 145.9 million euro ($165 million) loss for 2018, a sharp increase from the 20 million euro deficit recorded in 2017. These losses are being absorbed by the American fund Elliott, which stepped in to lead the club after the previous owner, Li Yonghong, defaulted on his acquisition loans.
Italian goliaths AC Milan, battling to recover the magnificence long periods of seven European Cups and of their prime under media tycoon Silvio Berlusconi, on Monday posted a record loss of 145.9 million euros ($165 million) for 2018. The misfortunes, which were somewhere in the range of 20 million over 2017, will be secured by share investor, US subsidize Elliott, which assumed control over the Rossoneri a year ago after Chinese business magnet Li Yonghong defaulted on a credit to purchase the outfit.
The club has spent years sharing the San Siro. However, executive Paolo Scaroni—who previously led the energy giant Eni— believes that getting the green light from city authorities for a new stadium would be a game-changer for their income.
Scaroni highlighted that the top clubs in Europe earn more than 100 million euros from stadium revenue, whereas Milan and Inter only make around 34 million. He argued that this massive revenue gap is the primary reason they cannot compete with Europe's best teams.
Should the main stadium project fall through, Scaroni mentioned a secondary option involving Inter. He also noted that while they are actively seeking new sponsorships, the lack of results on the pitch is making it increasingly difficult to attract partners.
The club is a shadow of the legendary side from the late 80s that featured stars like Marco Van Basten, currently languishing in the middle of the table. CEO Ivan Gazidis stated that Elliott has an ambitious goal: to return Milan to the pinnacle of Italian and global football much faster than the usual 10 to 15 year rebuilding process.
Beyond building a new stadium, the strategy involves investing in young talent to develop them into world-class stars. This comes after a rocky start to the Serie A season, which led to the firing of Marco Giampaolo and the appointment of Stefano Pioli—the club's ninth manager in ten years.
So far, the managerial change hasn't sparked a turnaround. Pioli has only managed one point in his first two matches, including a 2-1 loss to Roma. This leaves Milan in 12th place, seven points behind the Champions League qualification spots. Meanwhile, Napoli is fighting for a top spot, sitting in second place just one point behind Juventus.