AC Milan CEO Giorgio Furlani has claimed that the club is becoming more American and, in turn, less Italian. The exec has been with the Serie A side since 2018, when he was a high-ranking official with the team’s former ownership. Furlani, however, stayed on at Milan once RedBird Capital Partners completed the takeover in 2022. RedBird is an American investment firm that owns multiple soccer teams in Europe.
Furlani made the interesting claim about his club during a recent interview with Bloomberg TV. On the air, the interviewer specifically asked the exec about the American ownership’s influence on the team. There are currently two USMNT stars in the squad. Nevertheless, there was not a single Milan player on Italy‘s roster at Euro 2024.
“We’ve definitely become more American,” stated Furlani. “We’re owned by an American firm, which is Redbird Capital Partner, a leading investor in sports, media, and entertainment. And we work very closely with them. We’ve also become more American on the field.”
“We have, I think you were saying, two American players. Our decisions on who to field are entirely sporting and there isn’t a decision on the base of, you know, what passport the player has. It’s about how good the player is. Obviously, some players just by nature are American. In our case, we have two players, including Christian Pulisic, who have a certain commercial appeal in the U.S., which is certainly helpful.”
Pulisic is arguably the most popular American soccer player at the moment. After all, the 25-year-old forward is now the captain of the national team and plays for a prestigious European club. He is also widely considered to be the most valuable USMNT star in the world.
However, Yunus Musah is also a rising soccer star as well. The midfielder previously made a name for himself in Arsenal‘s youth setup. He eventually signed on at Spanish side Valencia back in 2019. Milan then opted to sign both of the Americans in the summer of 2023. This came less than a year after Redbird Capital purchased the Italian club.
Since the duo joined the team, Milan has experienced a massive rise in interest across the pond. In fact, the club recently revealed that they have seen a 154% increase on their U.S. website compared to the previous year. Downloads of Milan’s official mobile app have also risen 266% as well. In total, the United States accounts for 18% of the team’s online sales.
Pulisic, in particular, has also had a huge impact on jersey sales as well. The club claims that they have seen a 50% increase of jersey sales here in the States. Jerseys with Pulisic’s name on the back apparently account for 51% of all of their shirt purchases in America. 14% of all Milan jerseys sold globally in the last year reportedly came from fans based in the United States.
Milan has also capitalized financially in their merchandise partnership with the New York Yankees. Merchandise from the two teams can be found at both of their stadiums. Since their American takeover, Milan is also scheduling more summer friendlies in America as well. Pulisic and company are set to take on Manchester City at Yankee Stadium on Saturday. The Italian club will then play preseason matches in Chicago and Baltimore as well.
Photo credits: IMAGO / Beautiful Sports.
