GdS: What Cardinale said to Allegri and the squad during ‘blitz’ Milan visit

Gerry Cardinale’s arrival in Italy on Wednesday has made headlines, with the AC Milan owner visiting the training ground and headquarters.

As La Gazzetta dello Sport (seen below) writes, Milan welcomes hundreds of businessmen from around the world every day, but never in recent months had Cardinale been on the list. He had been absent from San Siro since September 2024, and at Milanello likely since April 2025.

Yesterday morning, however, he announced that he was coming to Milanello, and a certain amount of intrigue then spread. Cardinale is always present with phone calls and messages, but when the owner arrives in town, it is something a bit different.

How his day went

Cardinale was already at Milanello by 10:00 CET, where he met with the management and the team. He walked around the training center with CEO Giorgio Furlani. He spoke with Zlatan Ibrahimovic and with Igli Tare, the sporting director whom Cardinale met and chose back in the spring of 2025.

He also spoke with Massimiliano Allegri, with whom he has spoken several times on the phone in the recent past. Then he greeted the team. A smile with Christian Pulisic, a handshake with Luke Modric. A serene atmosphere, according to those present.

In the late morning, Cardinale moved to Casa Milan, where he met with president Paolo Scaroni, Stefano Cocirio (Chief Financial Officer) and Maikel Oettle (Chief Revenue Officer). For lunch, he went to the restaurant at the HQ with Ibrahimovic and Cocirio. He left there around 13:30, and the city shortly after.

Cardinale congratulated the club on their results, reiterated his desire to win, and clarified that his commitment to the club is long-term. After all, he’s always said he’s not at Milan to sell quickly, because RedBird prefers to keep an asset and develop it through multi-year transformations.

Over the past three and a half years, he’s never taken risks – the last three accounts have closed in profit – he’s increased revenue, made significant progress in the commercial area, and invested capital in the stadium, the key to the club’s development. The idea, in short, is stability and growth.

Why now?

Cardinale returned to Milan because the Milan project is experiencing an important moment. Debt refinancing, the Champions League objective, the Scudetto dream, the NBA Europe project, the stadium and the mercato are all on the agenda.

On Sunday, however, Cardinale won’t be at Roma-Milan. His last appearance at a game was Real Madrid-Milan on 5 November 2024, Paulo Fonseca’s big night at the Santiago Bernabeu.

What happens next? Refinancing, of course, plays a role in this story. RedBird aim to finalie and formalise the agreement with Comvest by March, which would allow it to repay its €489m plus interest debt with Elliott Management early.

The Singer family fund would formally exit the scene, and at that point, it would become interesting to see if and how Cardinale would restructure things. Massimo Calvelli was added to the board in November: he participates in decision-making and regularly attends Casa Milan.

The other major open issue for 2026 is the stadium. Manica and Foster + Partners, the two architectural firms commissioned, are working on the design for the new San Siro. Cardinale, even though he is physically distant, is following the project very closely.