Pellegatti claims Cardinale wants Steinbrenners and Yankees to become Milan’s new owners

Carlo Pellegatti has suggested that Gerry Cardinale could consider selling AC Milan to the Yankees Entertainment Group, essentially the Steinbrenner family.

Milan and the New York Yankees – the biggest Major League Baseball franchise – have already engaged in some synergy. There has been some crossover merchandise produced, while the Yankees Entertainment and Sports network (YES) have shown Rossoneri content.

RedBird Capital Partners own 99.93% of Milan, having acquired that stake from Elliott Management three years ago. RedBird have a minority stake in the YES Network, while Yankee Global Enterprises LLC own a 10% stake in Milan’s ownership vehicle.

‘Extraordinary horizons’

Pellegatti spoke in a YouTube video published this morning about the possibility that RedBird Capital could offload Milan to a group that they know very well from previous dealings. His comments were relayed by MilanNews.

“Gerry Cardinale is seeking a long-term solution, a joint venture with the New York Yankees owners, the Steinbrenner family, one of RedBird’s major backers. In short, Cardinale is working to ensure that the Steinbrenners become the new owners of AC Milan,” he said.

“When we talk about the Yankees, we’re talking about an iconic brand worth between $6 and $7.5 billion. George Steinbrenner, who passed away in 2010, bought the franchise for $8.7 million in 1973, and its value quickly increased exponentially.

“Today, Hal is the president, and the Steinbrenner family has interests in real estate, automotive, and horse racing. The family has become a case study for having redesigned a different sports business model.

“This change of ownership would open up extraordinary horizons for Milan’s future: it would be a family, not a fund, that would be happy and ambitious to own one of the most important brands in European sports and football.

“Long-term and interesting prospects: we can’t even imagine what it would mean to have the Steinbrenners, one of America’s most prestigious families, as owners of Milan.”