AC Milan CEO Ivan Gazidis Discusses The Wage Plans And Return To The Top

AC Milan's CEO Ivan Gazidis spoke on the club's vision to return back to the top of European football.

Gazidis spoke to ESPN to say,

“What we’re doing at Milan is very clear, very difficult. We have to bring our wage bill down while at the same time increasing performance and that’s not easy to do.”

“A lot of the success of the Premier League has been based on this global outlook, this internationalisation. It happened both in terms of footballing ideas but then, more recently in terms of foreign ownership and international management. And this mix of ideas, this diversity has been one of the driving forces of its success.”

“I think Italian football, clearly, on the field is international and our brands are international brands. So all the elements are there. Look at the interest from private equity groups. They’re not stupid … they want to be involved in the modernisation and professionalisation of Italian football, they know there’s enormous untapped potential.”

“If we take the right steps, Italian football can go back to … the top of world football. I think Serie A has the greatest potential out of the ‘Big Five’ leagues in terms of growth. And I actually think Milan has the greatest potential as an individual club.”

“[Football] culture is quite closed. There are football people and anybody else with new ideas who is not a football person is seen as a threat, and the football community kind of coalesces together to form an impenetrable barrier for self-protection, maybe because they’re suspicious of new ideas. They fall back on the tried and tested clichés.”

“Football is an environment that challenge your prejudices. They get found out. Look at the changes in England, for example. Wenger played a big part in that. When you’re successful, things change very, very quickly because the results are there on the pitch.”

“As people see a clear vision, as our fans enjoy the football, things can change very quickly. And I think Italian football as a whole is an environment that’s very ripe for that and will take a huge step forward. And they’ll do it quickly. Surprisingly quickly.”