The retired footballer was hired as an operating partner of RedBird Capital, the private investment firm that bought the Italian club in 2022.
“Zlatan allows me to be based in the United States and continue on the field in terms of presence and closeness at Milan,” said Cardinale on Thursday, during the Business of Football conference, organized by the Financial Times newspaper. “We speak multiple times every day and he has the authority to be my voice before the players, the staff and everyone at Milan.”
Cardinale has previously teamed up with Hollywood stars such as Affleck, Damon and Dwayne Johnson, as well as basketball star James. He has considered that the experience of these figures can give added value to his investments.
He turned to Ibrahimovic to be his eyes and ears at the Italian team, which became a powerhouse in Europe but has not won a Champions League title since 2007. Milan is currently third in Serie A.
In a glittering, trophy-laden career, Ibrahimovic played for many of the world’s top clubs, including Barcelona, Manchester United, Paris Saint-Germain, Ajax, Juventus, Milan and Inter. He also spent time in MLS, with the Los Angeles Galaxy.
Ibrahimovic retired last year. He ended his career at Milan.
“After 20 years I felt free because, as a professional footballer, you follow a certain program and there is less freedom. So, finally, when I felt free, Gerry came into my life and made me an offer I couldn’t refuse,” Ibrahimovic said. “The day I stopped playing I said I wanted to start again, from scratch, with something new.”
RedBird says it manages $8.6 billion in capital.
In 2022, he partnered with Affleck and Damon in an independent studio called Artists Equity.
Other agreements have been reached regarding joint projects involving James and Johnson. Cardinale says he benefits from working with stars from the worlds of sports and entertainment.
“What’s amazing about Ben and Matt is that they teach me more about media investing and entertainment than I could ever learn anywhere else,” Cardinale said. “What I have started to do is go directly to the source, to the guys who are there, at ground zero of all these things. In Hollywood it’s Ben, Matt and Dwayne. In sports they are LeBron and Zlatan.”
Cardinale and Ibrahimovic will be able to advance faster if they lead Milan to the summit of European football.
Although the Rossonero team dominated the European Cup in the late 1980s and early 1990s, they can no longer compete with clubs such as Manchester City, Real Madrid or Paris Saint-Germain for the best footballers. listed in the world.
“We have to find smarter ways to win. Just from an investment standpoint, the main goal is to win consistently,” Cardinale said.
And he is convinced that Ibrahimovic is the best man to help him achieve that success.
“What seems crazy to me is that people buy these sports teams and turn to consultants, advisors, research firms and all this stuff that people like me are more familiar with from the other parts of our business that we invest in. But who knows European football and would know Milan better than this guy?”
Cardinales explained that Ibrahimovic arrives with “legitimacy and credibility.”
“If I only took a guy from New York and put him in Milan, he would have much less credibility than Zlatan,” he exemplified. “Not only because Zlatan is one of the best to ever play the game, but because of the way he carries himself and is able to speak to the players with an incredibly unique voice of authority.”
Throughout his career, Ibrahimovic had a reputation as a leader who preferred frank communication.
Ibrahimovic was asked how his transition from player to executive has been. And he showed himself attached to his reputation as a sincere person.
“Too easy. Either they do what I tell them or they are not here anymore,” she responded. “I’m not kidding”.
“The complicated situation is that, as a former player, I used to play with these guys. Eight months ago they were my colleagues. There is a lot of respect between us and obviously the situation I am in now, the role I have, means that I have to make certain decisions in which perhaps I am not very friendly. One has to think about a different aspect from above about the club, the future. You need to make decisions in a different way.”
Source: AP
