Zlatan Ibarhimovic has been handed the Tapiro d’Oro by Canale 5’s satirical news show Striscia la Notizia after a difficult week for the Milan ownership, which has seen the club’s headquarters raided by financial authorities in Italy.
The Tapir d’Oro, translated into English as the ‘Golden Tapir’, is a mock award handed out to high profile celebrities or public figures in Italy after a personal defeat, or sometimes after an embarrassing ordeal in the press.
Ibrahimovic took his Tapiro d’Oro nomination in good spirit, laughing with the TV crew and joking: “It’s actually me, the owner of Milan, but that is a secret.”
Ibrahimovic later clarified: “There was a check, but they didn’t find anything. The owner of Milan is RedBird.”
In a trailer released on Friday, reported via TMW, Ibrahimovic also spoke about the team’s fortunes on the pitch, noting: “The boys are doing well, they are listening to me. They have to do so, otherwise …”
The full segment is set to be broadcast on Canale 5 in Italy on Friday evening, beginning at 19.35 GMT.
Earlier this week, Milan offices were raided by the Italian financial police, who took away club laptops, tablets and other devices as part of an ongoing investigation into the ownership of the Rossoneri.
There were claims that Elliott Management, who had been in control of Milan from 2018 to 2022, still had control over the club, despite a sale to RedBird Capital Partners being announced in the summer of 2022.
Both Elliott and RedBird have refuted those claims in official statements.
“Il proprietario del Milan sono io”.
Tapiro d’oro al neo dirigente Zlatan Ibrahimovic, stasera a Striscia
Leggi la news: https://t.co/VaSAMMqhoG#Striscialanotizia @VStaffelli @Ibra_official pic.twitter.com/Yti8KeyJOJ— Striscia la notizia (@Striscia) March 15, 2024