2 days ago
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Cagliari president Tommaso Giulini has hit back at comments made by AC Milan owner Gerry Cardinale regarding US-based interest in his team.
Cardinale was a guest on ‘The Varsity’ podcast and he returned to speaking about not only Milan but the Serie A panorama, for the first time in a while. He was asked about the competition that the league faces, and a remark he made has drawn some heat.
“In the United States, no one wants to see Cagliari versus Lecce, and that’s a problem. Competition is the essence of sport, but it’s not rewarded financially.”
The statement from Cardinale – who is the founder owner of RedBird Capital – has caused a bit of a stir in Salento and Sardinia. Cagliari president Tommaso Giulini’s response was swift, as he took to X to post the following response.
“Dear Cardinale, it’s easy to say that ‘Cagliari-Lecce doesn’t interest anyone’ when you only know Sardinia as a tourist. The eighth club in Italy by fanbase is watched, respected, and – who knows – someone in the USA might cheer more for Cagliari than Milan.”
Cardinale used Cagliari-Lecce as an example to discuss how Serie A has a different appeal in the United States than the Premier League, and he went on to speak about the challenges that the English model poses for the rest of Europe.
“The real competition isn’t the other 19 Serie A teams: it’s the Premier League. That’s an economic black hole that drains wealth from the continent. They have almost four times the television revenue of other European leagues, and that’s a problem,” Cardinale said.
“In Serie A, the last team can beat the first on any given day. It’s the most competitive league, but we don’t get paid for it. We can’t get significant deals for international rights. Why? Because distributors only want the best, hence the Super League phenomenon.”
English (US) ·