Paolo Scaroni explains why Milan need a new stadium

Disappointment yes, “because Milan for better or for worse offers unique emotions. And yesterday was a bad night. But the watchword is trust: “I am convinced that we will still have energy when we return”, he guarantees Paul Scaroni, the president of the Rossoneri who spoke at the Il Foglio event at San Siro (watch the live broadcast here). “I don’t consider the match closed at all: we continue to believe in the final, Pioli also says so ”. And in any case, Milan can celebrate its great return to the top of European football. “The Champions League derby brought us 10 million and 462 thousand euros in proceeds”. Scaroni is keen to underline the figure: high, but it could be more. “The takings are the fuel for our Milan car. With a new stadium everything would be different”.

The president reiterates what is missing at the Meazza: “The possibility of providing adequate corporate hospitality. A modern structure would have allowed us to sell tickets to companies that use major events for their customers, and therefore sell them for 5,000 euros each. As do the other top European clubs. Even Inter knows it well: we need a new structure able to accommodate corporate spectators and offer higher quality to ordinary ones”. By now the stadium question is a chimera. “Inter and we hold the San Siro dossier in hand. We’ll talk about it with the mayor during the week: every further step with the municipality means higher costs and less economic attractiveness. At the same time, we are not giving up on studying the alternatives”, Scaroni does not specify which ones, “outside the municipality of Milan. Building in this area has become a titanic undertaking. Fierce and vociferous oppositions proliferate everywhere, forcing us to take steps backwards. Our deadline? We will make the final decision by the summer”.

Meanwhile, however, the Milan project does not stop growing. “Taking care of a football team implies two closely related mountains to climb: sporting and economic results”. Scaroni looks back. “I think we are largely succeeding. Last year we won the Scudetto and we confirmed ourselves in the Champions League. This year we are in the final and we aim to retrain. From a business point of view we did just as well: in 2023, thanks also to the Champions League, we will close the results in profit. We have stadium revenue like we’ve never had. Everything is going in the right direction.”

Even if this was Napoli’s year. “De Laurentiis was not good, more”, compliments of the colleague. “He closed the transfer campaign with profits, buying Kvaratskhelia: an extraordinary player that others had not even identified. He built a strong team, even when he lost against us he played very well. And on top of all this he reached the Scudetto. An exemplary season”. Milan is already looking to the next one. “The renewal of Leao? It’s not in my hands, Furlani and Maldini are taking care of it: but since I see them smiling, I’m optimistic too. De Ketelaere? Insiders are confident that his purchase will bear fruit. There is no plan b: we wait for Charles. Patience is one of our virtues, of our Milan style. We are not protesting and we are not making excuses: even yesterday, Pioli didn’t cling to Leao’s absence…”

What is certain is that this Euroderby, which has been awaited for twenty years, is an extraordinary event. “It’s important from the media, even abroad. It has given us that prestige which I hope will contribute to increasing the value of the entire Serie A: we are an exciting and competitive league. And now in the league, on the upcoming negotiation of TV rights, I’m starting to feel some vein of optimism that wasn’t there a few months ago”.

The grand finale is on Zlatan: “If he is well, he must continue playing and play for Milan”, announces Scaroni. “I think Ibrahimovic is happy here: he is a great Rossoneri fan, I see him very involved, even when he attends matches. It will depend on him.” What about the president’s future? “I’m a Milan fan: I don’t want to give it up, I don’t want to interrupt this journey that began in 2018. There is the stadium theme, I still want to do the many things that remain and continue to improve our results. But always with the accounts in order”.