On Thursday 13th April 2017, Silvio Berlusconi officially sold AC Milan to Chinese businessman Yonghong Li for a fee in the region of €740M. The long and historic reign of the former Italian Prime Minister will be remembered fondly by the Milan fans, delivering the Champions League to the San Siro on multiple occasions and bringing in some of the world’s best players.
Now, however, a new era begins at the Italian club as the new wave of Chinese ownership looks to reestablish Milan as one of the biggest clubs in the world. Here are 5 reasons why Milan can become a superpower again.
#1 Money
As we all know, money can propel a club into success, almost overnight. It worked for Chelsea and it’s currently helping Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain, and all signs show that if the Chinese consortium is smart, they can get Milan back to the top of the game.
Splashing money about to every player under the sun won’t get Milan very far, but tying up the contracts of their younger stars and buying players who will suit a system, not ones that will get the most attention.
The deal does require the Chinese businessman to spend over €350M the next three years on improvements, which could be on the playing squad, the stadium itself or even a new coaching team. Whatever happens, it’s guaranteed that these Chinese owners need to be serious about this, or else it’ll just fall flat on its face.
It’s imperative that players like Gianluigi Donnarumma have their futures tied to the club, or else it’ll be a much larger rebuilding job than it really needs to be. The squad has some good players, but obviously the new money means new players, which will naturally lead into new expectations.
#2 Current crop of players
As mentioned before, Milan does actually have quite a solid squad as it is. Fresh and exciting players like Donnarumma, Alessio Romagnoli, Manuel Locatelli, Suso and Gerard Deulofeu are what are keeping the current Milan team in the hunt for a Europa League place, but for a large part of the season they were chasing high goals.
If it weren’t for a blip after the winter break, this young Milan side, led by former Roma striker Vincenzo Montella, would probably be battling it out with Lazio and Napoli for that final Champions League place.
The Chinese owners will obviously have to invest and replace some players like Luca Vangioni and Gabriel Paletta because they aren’t good enough for where Milan need to be and replacements will be needed.
However, the more important thing is not to completely overhaul the squad and start fresh, but to use the key players now to build a team around. Players like Locatelli and Suso should be players Montella and the new owners prioritize, instead of spending €60M on someone they don’t really need.
These players are exciting and have big futures in the game, so why not harness that talent and build a squad around this talented group of young players.
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#3 Competition in Italy makes them better
For years, Juventus have been riding high atop of Serie A, relatively unchallenged by those below them. The likes of Roma and Napoli have tried their hardest to keep up with the team from Turin, but have failed simply because they do not have the pulling power and resources.
Now, with the Milan clubs being taken over, they will have the money to compete with Juve, and as we all know, competition brings the best out of clubs.
For too long Juventus have been allowed to waltz through the Italian league fairly unchallenged, but with things about to change, we could see a different kind of Milan. In recent years, Milan have played like a club that’s going through a transition and haven’t really pushed hard enough for success, mainly because they had a feeling they couldn’t compete with Juve.
Provided they spend the money wisely, Milan could easily be up their within the title chase in the next few years and could use the competition to actually grow as a club. Stagnation is the worst thing for a huge club, but with other big clubs around them, Milan will not be allowed to rest on their laurels.
#4 Historical club
When clubs get bought out, very rarely are they hugely historical clubs with multiple European Cups to their name, but with Milan it’s a very different story.
Everybody around the world, one way or another, will be aware of AC Milan and some parts of the history of the club. When people were growing up, they would have known multiple players in a Milan squad. The history of Milan is absolutely a key part of the club, and any player with high ambitions in the game will be keen to be apart of that history.
They will go down in history as part of the post Silvio Berlusconi era of Milan, and what player wouldn’t want to make history at such a glamorous club? They could be enticed at the thought of being this generations Ruud Gullit, Paolo Maldini or Kaka and the bargaining chip of Milan’s history could really work in their favour.
#5 Expansion of European places in Serie A
Very recently, Serie A announced that they will be gaining an extra UEFA Champions League place, meaning instead of the three teams going into the competition, Italy will now be represented by four. To say this is a huge boost to the likes of Milan is a massive understatement.
As mentioned before, competition brings out the best in a squad and with an extra chance of reaching the Champions League; we could see Milan back on the big stage sooner than expected. Being back in the Champions League would allow Milan to bring a whole new level of player to the San Siro, and if they were to be competitive in the competition, they could be able to get closer to their former self.
Being out of European competition has seriously hurt Milan, but a return to the Champions League could really give them the boost they need to get back to being a superpower of world football.
