Milan owner Gerry Cardinale appeared alongside Rossoneri executive and former striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic at the FT’s Business of Football Summit in Mayfair on Thursday, where he explained the Swede’s exact role and responsibilities after his appointment as a Senior Advisor in December.
Ibrahimovic rejoined Milan in an advisory role just before Christmas, but the full extent of his day-to-day duties have not always been entirely clear.
Cardinale revealed that Ibrahimovic is effectively his spokesperson, and that the Swede has the authority to direct club staff in Cardinale’s absence.
Cardinale also compared Ibrahimovic to the likes of LeBron James and Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, who have both previously worked with RedBird Capital executives in the past.
“Ibrahimovic is my guy on the ground in Milan, he has the authority to be my voice with the players, with the coaching staff and at Casa Milan. Getting to know Ibra well was one of the benefits of taking almost a year to evaluate the situation,” Cardinale said, reported via Calciomercato.com.
“When I met Zlatan, I was really intrigued. He is a great team player and if you manage to introduce teamwork into the business world, you can do bigger and better things.
“When clubs are bought, they usually rely on lots of different consultants, but who knows Milan and European football better than Zlatan? We have a proven track record of partnerships with people like him, from Dwayne Johnson to LeBron James, also Ben Affleck and Matt Damon . And, in Zlatan, I see the same thing.”
Gerry #Cardinale: 'Io e #Ibrahimovic non siamo soddisfatti di non essere primi, ci saranno cambiamenti nel #Milan'. Sul ruolo di Zlatan e il nuovo stadio… https://t.co/dL6i2qxDvH
— calciomercato.com (@cmdotcom) February 29, 2024
Basically, you pay him to boss around. You obviously have no idea to run a football club. Duh !!