Milan, Cardinale placates the fans: “Here is the president of the Yankees”. Leao and Ibra, crucial days
[ad_1]
MILAN – Gerry Cardinale’s first response to the Milan fans, perplexed by his constant absence from Milan matches and in particular from the Italian Super Cup final in Riyadh, where the former owner Gordon Singer stood out, was still indirect: the a new high-profile figure in American sports has joined the board of directors. We are talking about Randy Levine, who has been president of the New York Yankees for over twenty years, the famous Major League Baseball franchise, whose synergy with Milan is becoming more and more discovered. However, the transition from the Singer family’s Elliott fund to Cardinale’s RedBird company is not yet clear, which received a 600 million euro loan from Elliott, out of the 1.2 billion of the transaction which, on August 31, 2022, marked the formal transfer of property. Now the new board is composed as follows: Paolo Scaroni chairman, Giorgio Furlani managing director, Stefano Cocirio financial director and the directors Gerry Cardinale, Randy Levine, Alec Scheiner, Niraj Shah, Isaac Halyard and Gordon Singer. In theory, the majority in the board belongs to RedBird, to which the founder Cardinal, the vice president Halyard and two close historical collaborators of Cardinale such as Scheiner and Shah are directly associated. But the control of the Elliott fund still remains strong, represented by Singer junior and guaranteed both by Scaroni, who was already present on the Board of Directors during the Chinese era of Yoinghong Li and who maintains a historical link with Silvio Berlusconi and Adriano Galliani, and by Furlani, that until the succession in the place of Ivan Gazidis he was portfolio manager of the Singer fund and that in this capacity he had entered the Rossoneri board of directors, and finally by Cocirio, already a well-known financial analyst and entered the Elliott fund as associate portfolio manager of Elliott.
Milan, how many pindaric flights: Cardinale thinks of helicopters, but Monaco aims to snatch Moncada from him
by Enrico Curro
Crucial days for Leao and Ibra
The undoubted construction of a high-profile Board of Directors does not save Milan fans from the classic dilemma: any corporate structure, in football, is put to the test by sporting results and determines them. The team’s false start in 2023 therefore remains the contingent problem and market interventions a still remote eventuality, because RedBird doesn’t seem to want to raise the budget. However, these are crucial days for Leao and Ibrahimovic. The only market acceleration may in fact concern the renewal of Leao’s contract, which has entered the decisive phase. Ibrahimovic has also returned to Milanello, with the recognized talent of motivating a slightly depressed locker room. But the Swedish champion’s final sprint attempt to get back on the field is also linked to the future of the department most affected by injuries: the attack. For the match on Tuesday 24 in Rome, which becomes an opportunity for Milan to fend off Lazio’s assault on the Champions League area, Pioli is preparing some changes: the coach must decide whether to thicken the midfield to alleviate the discomfort of Tonali and Bennacer , often forced into numerical inferiority and a frantic coverage of considerable pitch spaces.
Milan, the disappointment of Maldini and Massara for the game disappeared. Market blocked, Pioli consoles himself with the Golden Bench
by Enrico Curro
The obsession of the new stadium
The club welcomed the addition of Levine, who is “globally recognized as one of the most accomplished executives in the sports and entertainment industry. Leading one of the most iconic sports teams in the world,
Levine has contributed to the franchise’s ongoing success in terms of on-field performance, business partnerships and global opportunities to grow and strengthen the New York Yankees brand. He was also instrumental in the development of the new Yankee Stadium, completed in 2009, also revolutionizing , sports content distribution through the creation of the YES Network and partnered with the Dallas Cowboys to form Legends Hospitality LLC, a leading developer of premium experiences in sports and entertainment. The comment once again certifies the philosophical line of Milan, now devoted to American show business and to a model in which the new stadium – the current node and obsession of corporate policy – becomes the fulcrum of economic and sporting development. Scaroni underlined it: “Levine is a leading professional in sport and entertainment. His experience and expertise will integrate with ours, contributing to the growth path of the club and creating opportunities to expand its international reputation. Randy’s appointment will help us develop new synergies globally, in line with RedBird’s strategic vision, opening new horizons for the Club and its fans.” Cardinale himself reiterated this: “For over two decades I have had the privilege of building a unique and successful partnership with the New York Yankees and with the Steinbrenner family, which recently also involved the investment of the Yankees alongside RedBird in Milan. I am thrilled to welcome Randy Levine to the AC Milan board and look forward to consolidating this global partnership between the Yankees and AC Milan.”
The Wizard of TV Rights
The very long biography published on the sidelines of the announcement makes the concept even more explicit, foreshadowing an important role for Levine in the crucial negotiation of television rights for Italian football: “From 1995 to 1997 he covered the role of chief negotiator of Major League Baseball. In 1996 he negotiated the agreement which for the first time included the distribution of profits, the luxury tax and matches between franchises belonging to different leagues”. The rest belongs mostly to show business: “During the tenure of Randy Levine, a graduate of George Washington University and a J.D. from Hofstra University School of Law, and under his supervision and guidance, the Yankees built the new Yankee Stadium, a state-of-the-art facility whose construction was completed for the start of the 2009 season, which then ended with the victory of the twenty-seventh title in the history of the franchise. Levine was one of the founders of YES Network, the most watched regional sports network in the United States, subsequently leading the negotiations in the sale of 80% of the network to 21st Century Fox and, in 2019, the purchase of YES Network from Disney Company at the head of a consortium formed by Amazon, Sinclair Broadcasting, Blackstone, Mubadala and Red Bird Capital. He also led the process of international expansion of the Yankees brand, which saw the launch of an unprecedented partnership with Manchester City Football Club in 2013. This agreement led to the joint acquisition of the twentieth Major League Soccer club, New York City Football Club (NYCFC), which began its competitive activity in 2015”. And again: “Levine has been at the forefront of the development of a wide range of entertainment and special events at Yankee Stadium, transforming the facility into a year-round facility and a focal point for a wide and varied series of initiatives ranging from college football, soccer, hockey, music, boxing and corporate events. And before joining the Yankees, Levine held the position of deputy mayor of New York City, covering economic development, planning and administration. Prior to 1995, Levine served as Assistant Deputy Attorney and Assistant Attorney General at the United States Department of Justice. He also served as a special delegate of the US Department of Labor and as a vice president and board member of Hudson River Park ”.
[ad_2]
Source link
