AC Milan President Scaroni defends player sales and Serie A game abroad

AC Milan President Paolo Scaroni hails the newfound financial stability, but insists playing a Serie A match with Como in Perth is ‘not about money.’

While LaLiga have abandoned their attempts to schedule a game between Barcelona and Villarreal in Miami, Italian football is pressing ahead with its revolutionary plan.

It would see the first ever Serie A fixture played on foreign soil, specifically moving Milan vs. Como to Perth in February 2026.

“We are not doing this for money, because any profit from such an operation would be extremely small, just a couple of million,” insisted Scaroni after a meeting.

“We are going there with an effort that everyone should make to internationalise Serie A. The main problem of this league is represented by the sale of TV rights outside Italy, which is worth just €200m compared to the €2.2 billion of the Premier League.”

Fans have complained that Milan’s owners RedBird were expected to pump fresh funds into the club, but instead have been rather cautious financially.

That included selling top stars like Sandro Tonali to Newcastle United and Tijjani Reijnders to Manchester City.

“Player trading is a normal part of football, not something exceptional. We too, like our fans, become very fond of players, but the objective is always to create a strong team that can win in a balanced economic context.

“Faced with that objective, we are ready to make the necessary decisions.”

Milan have certainly turned things around since the days of Silvio Berlusconi and especially Yonghong Li, who failed to keep up loan repayments, seeing the club effectively repossessed by Elliott Management.

This is the third year in a row that Milan have run at a profit, which Scaroni points out is a rarity in modern football.

“It will be tough to make it four in a row, without Champions League participation, but the objective is to have a satisfying economic result. We do not predict any intervention from the majority shareholders, and are keeping the debt level under a watchful eye.”

A big move was made today with the signing of the sale agreement for Inter and AC Milan to purchase the land around San Siro from the local council.

“I am still concerned, as it will be a long process with many obstacles to reach a finished, constructed new stadium, but I have faith,” noted Scaroni.

“It feels like we are all convinced this is a useful move for the city, and those who are opposed will find less support than they had four or five years ago. Seeing the stadiums during the Euros in Germany convinced many that modern arenas are a very different thing.”