Milan CEO Giorgio Furlani lambasted the removal of the Growth Decree and warned ‘the reality has changed’ also for their January transfer strategy, but backed coach Stefano Pioli.
The match with Sassuolo kicks off at San Siro at 17.00 GMT.
Furlani had said last week that the removal of the Growth Decree – financial incentives saving taxes on salaries for players brought in from abroad – would lead to the destruction of Italian clubs.
Rather than extend it until February 29, it was instead announced that the Government is letting it lapse on December 31.
“It is a sad decision for Italian football, it makes us poorer, less competitive and it weakens our whole industry,” Furlani told Sky Sport Italia.
“Unfortunately, football is not seen as a sector of the economy in Italy. We were leaders for decades, we are not now, but we have the potential that unfortunately is stemmed by a series of rules and regulations that prevent us getting back to being European and world leaders.
“I thank Minister Abodi, he does understand football and pushed to set up a summit where we can discuss football’s role as an element of the economic sector in Italy. Unfortunately, this decision went against us.
“It is not just Milan, but all of Serie A that will have to deal with this new law that is active from January 1. Unfortunately, we will all have to take it into consideration when making transfer decisions.”
Milan need reinforcements on the transfer window, but the Growth Decree removal could well affect their strategy going into next month.
“We need to take this new reality into consideration, so we will be ready to take opportunities that arise and we were pretty active in the summer window already. Without doubt, the reality starting January 1 is different to the one we had before.
“All the Serie A CEOs and Presidents talked about the need to have a series of regulations placed around football that can make us competitive on a European level, which means taking some of the money that is generated from betting, to deal with the impossibility of investing in infrastructure in Italy.
“The only thing that actually changed was that a law was scrapped from one day to the next with zero warning, making it very difficult for everyone to adjust.”
Meanwhile, Milan are struggling and for the first time after the 2-2 draw with Salernitana, there were reports the club was genuinely ready to fire coach Pioli.
“Unfortunately it did not go the way we wanted, but there is a very important match today. We are all united and it does not seem right that the coach is put up for debate. What we must focus on being able to do is give the coach a complete squad to work with, and we are working on that,” concluded Furlani.
Bene!