These are busy days at Milan as they plan their internal restructuring following a season of disappointing results across the board. Sergio Conceicao is expected to leave the club at the end of the season. Giorgio Furlani is working on multiple fronts to plan for the next season, with no time to waste. The primary tasks are appointing a new sporting director and a new coach, important decisions that also require Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s input. Relations between Ibrahimovic and Furlani have been strained for several months due to their strong personalities, but recently there have been signs of a potential thaw.
New York Trip
Furlani’s trip to America served to discuss various aspects with Cardinale, from the stadium to strategic plans for global brand growth. However, the main focus was the internal reorganization. The CEO received approval to lead the process of selecting the new sporting director and, consequently, the new coach. Is Ibrahimovic sidelined then? Not exactly. The Swede remains a trusted figure for RedBird’s owner, acting as his eyes in Italy. However, the idea is to relieve him of duties and responsibilities that typically belong to the sporting director.
Thawing Relations
It has been cold again in Milan for a few days. But at Milan, they are trying to change the climate regarding Ibrahimovic and Furlani. Cardinale reminded Furlani that the meetings in London with Paratici, Berta, and Tare were only preliminary discussions. Ibrahimovic had also warned him about these meetings when the CEO was on vacation in the mountains. It remains to be seen if Zlatan will accept having less influence on sporting decisions. He certainly no longer wants to be a lightning rod for everything, and his media exposure will be drastically reduced. Meetings are scheduled this week to choose the sporting director. Furlani will have the final say, but Zlatan is not excluded. Separately, the situation with Milan Futuro deserves attention. This project has brought more pain than joy so far. In addition to the initial investment of 12 million, another 2 million of extra budget was added in the January market. The club still hopes to avoid relegation, after which a thorough 360-degree evaluation of responsibilities will be carried out.