Arsenal’s Ivan Gazidis may be coming to Milan after all

Well, the deal was supposedly off a few days ago, but it now appears that it’s back on. A high-profile figure from a club in London looks like he might be on his way to AC Milan. And no, we’re not talking about a possible move for Chelsea’s Cesc Fabregas.

Arsenal executive Ivan Gazidis looks like he might be on his way to Milan from Arsenal after all.

Gazidis was reportedly the first choice for the chief executive job by Milan’s new owners Elliot Management, and it appears that they have shelled out the cash to lure him to Casa Milan. Gazidis has reportedly be recruited in order to get the club’s financial house in order, as Gazidis is seen as one of the top men in football at building a brand and dealing with UEFA Financial Fair Play rules.

Milan infamously ran afoul of the FFP rules last summer, but were spared a European ban by the Court of Arbitration for Sport after Elliott Management took over the club from former owner Yonghong Li.

Gazidis was one of the people who worked in the United States to build MLS from an idea to a fully functioning league, complete with purpose built stadiums and millions in value, with expansion clubs being sold for $150 million last year, a huge jump from the $10 million that Toronto FC paid back in 2007.

The majority of the money being made for MLS isn’t necessarily from the ticket sales and TV deals, but instead from Soccer United Marketing, which was headed by Gazidis before he was poached by Arsenal to come across the Atlantic to head up the Premier League club. Arsenal have been a very profitable club since his arrival, and so it’s not surprising that Elliott Management would tap an experienced executive to help deal with the finances at Milan.

This whole thing feels like a transfer rumor, but we’re talking about an executive instead. Modern football is weird.