WEBVTT - Giorgio Furlani Talks AC Milan's US Growth

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<v Speaker 1>Bloomberg Audio Studios, podcasts, radio news.

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<v Speaker 2>AC Milan meeting English Premier League club Manchester City in

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<v Speaker 2>a preseason friendly at Yankee Stadium tomorrow afternoon. It's the

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<v Speaker 2>latest push in the United States by the Italian football jats,

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<v Speaker 2>a market they've seen significant growth in since being born

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<v Speaker 2>by New York private equity firm Redbird Capital back in

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<v Speaker 2>twenty twenty two. Please to say that joining us now

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<v Speaker 2>to discuss is the AC Milan CEO Georgio Ferlani, George, Joe,

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<v Speaker 2>Let's talk about this move. We've seen these friendlies before,

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<v Speaker 2>AC Milan on tour playing other teams from the Premier

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<v Speaker 2>League and elsewhere. It feels like we're getting closer to

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<v Speaker 2>playing a regular season game in the United States of America. Georgia,

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<v Speaker 2>Is that true? How close are we to an event

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<v Speaker 2>like that taking place?

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<v Speaker 1>Good morning, Thanks for having me.

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<v Speaker 3>You're right. We do these tours in the summer regularly

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<v Speaker 3>to play friendlies against other top teams. Look, there's a

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<v Speaker 3>regulatory challenges in moving abroad and into a different market

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<v Speaker 3>domestic league games, but we certainly think if you really

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<v Speaker 3>want to develop a fan base and you really want

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<v Speaker 3>to expand your business in the US. This would be

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<v Speaker 3>a critical part. So we will be working with CITIA,

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<v Speaker 3>our league, and the other regulatory bodies to allow us.

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<v Speaker 2>You've mentioned the bodies you need to work with. Can

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<v Speaker 2>you just build on that the obstacles for something like

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<v Speaker 2>that to take place. Have you had a meeting with

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<v Speaker 2>setting out the regulatory bodies about this already? Have you

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<v Speaker 2>taken steps to kind of push this forward? How close

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<v Speaker 2>are we to something like this?

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<v Speaker 3>We certainly have discussed it with it then needs to

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<v Speaker 3>be discussed also with WAIFA and with FIFA and the

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<v Speaker 3>authorities here in the US. There have been attempts in

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<v Speaker 3>the not so distant past to play games. La Liga

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<v Speaker 3>tried to but it didn't work out. So we'll keep

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<v Speaker 3>on absolutely important. Just in the same way that American

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<v Speaker 3>leagues have expanded globally by the regular season games not

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<v Speaker 3>just friendly outside of America, we need to do the

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<v Speaker 3>same the other way around.

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<v Speaker 2>It feels like ac Milan has become more American in

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<v Speaker 2>the last year or so and maybe less Italian. The

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<v Speaker 2>very fact that there wasn't a single ACMLAN player on

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<v Speaker 2>the Italian roster of the Euros this summer, is that

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<v Speaker 2>a financial decision or a sporting decision.

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<v Speaker 3>Very good question. We've definitely become more American. We're owned

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<v Speaker 3>by an American firm, which is Redbert Capital Partner, which

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<v Speaker 3>is a leading investor in sports media and entertainment, and

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<v Speaker 3>we work very closely with them. We've also become more

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<v Speaker 3>American on the field, so we have I think you

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<v Speaker 3>were saying two American players. Our decisions on who to

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<v Speaker 3>field are entirely sporting. Uh, there is in a decision

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<v Speaker 3>on the base of, you know, what passport the player has,

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<v Speaker 3>but it's about how good the player is. Obviously, some

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<v Speaker 3>players just by nature of being American. In our case

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<v Speaker 3>we have two players, including Christian Voldovik, have a certain

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<v Speaker 3>commercial appeal in the US, which is certainly helpful. But

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<v Speaker 3>we don't drive sporting decisions by passport looks.

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<v Speaker 1>We were talking Georgio about how the United States is

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<v Speaker 1>a really expensive market, that there's a lot of money here,

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<v Speaker 1>and so that's one reason why a lot of people

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<v Speaker 1>want to come here is because they're dollars and a

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<v Speaker 1>lot of eyeballs to come. They're also a lot of

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<v Speaker 1>dollars coming from the Middle East, and you're going to

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<v Speaker 1>be focused off facing off with man City, Georgio. How

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<v Speaker 1>open are you to tapping seemingly endless appetite in the

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<v Speaker 1>Middle East to own clubs in Europe.

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<v Speaker 3>So we have at least in a different way, which

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<v Speaker 3>is on the commercial side. So we've opened an office

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<v Speaker 3>in Dubai, were the first European football club to open

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<v Speaker 3>an office in Dubai. We've had a long standing fifteen

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<v Speaker 3>plus year relationship with Emirates the airline. We have other

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<v Speaker 3>commercial partners in the region, including the Kursoner Group, and

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<v Speaker 3>so the way we've gone about it is not sort

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<v Speaker 3>of via let's say equity injections, but rather via commercial partnerships.

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<v Speaker 2>Georjo, I just want to squeeze in one final question

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<v Speaker 2>and I'll ask this and said, as an ac Milan fan,

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<v Speaker 2>a lifelong fan like yourself, we both remember the ac

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<v Speaker 2>Milan of Capello and Saki of Barrazia Maldini. We've both

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<v Speaker 2>been disappointed with the performance of the team over the

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<v Speaker 2>last twenty years and the trajectory that we've been on.

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<v Speaker 2>I remember when the club became a selling club, and

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<v Speaker 2>I identified that summer when we've sold Ebra and we

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<v Speaker 2>sold Tiago Silver to Paris Sanja Man it felt like

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<v Speaker 2>that was a moment where ac Milan became a club

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<v Speaker 2>that needed to sell players and couldn't buy that talent anymore.

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<v Speaker 2>This summer we've got two big players, the left back

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<v Speaker 2>Theo Hernandez and we've got the goalkeeper Mike Manyan. I

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<v Speaker 2>want to understand whether that's two talents that you need

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<v Speaker 2>to monetize to fund the the project or whether a

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<v Speaker 2>Cimlan is back in a position where it can keep

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<v Speaker 2>world class talent. Just what is the state apply?

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah, So on the sporting side, our ambition is to

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<v Speaker 3>fight for the title in Italy every year and to

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<v Speaker 3>be competitive in the Champions League. Now we we do

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<v Speaker 3>this while on the lets the other side running a

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<v Speaker 3>business that is sustainable. So to give you some facts,

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<v Speaker 3>we two years ago was a first year in which

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<v Speaker 3>a cy Milan was profitable, first year in seventeen years

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<v Speaker 3>and last year was the second year. And I don't

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<v Speaker 3>think it's ever happened to a Cymlan to be profitable

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<v Speaker 3>in two consecutive years. What that translates into is we're

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<v Speaker 3>not forced to sell players because of capital shortage or

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<v Speaker 3>cash flow issues. So you know, I picking one word

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<v Speaker 3>is that we don't need to sell anyone. So, as

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<v Speaker 3>a fan, I'm telling you you shouldn't be worried about that.

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<v Speaker 2>Well, it's a fan. It's good to hear. Georgia. Good

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<v Speaker 2>luck tomorrow and hopefully we can catch up soon. Georgia

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<v Speaker 2>Falani there the ac Milan CEO