La Gazzetta dello Sport explains that Wednesday’s Champions League meeting between Milan and Tottenham in the Champions League will be crucial to determine the future of the Rossoneri’s project as well as their transfer budget for the summer.
The defending Serie A champions visit Antonio Conte’s Tottenham in North London on Wednesday in the second leg of the Champions League Round of 16. They beat Spurs 1-0 in the first leg in Milan on February 14.
Milan have been operating with a reduced transfer budget but still managed to win the Serie A title last season. The project’s sustainability is seen as the priority by new owner Gerry Cardinale who hasn’t changed the club’s vision after taking over from Elliott in August 2022.
This is why the Champions League prize money is crucial for the club’s short and long-term strategies, reports Gazzetta.
The Rossoneri earned circa €45m from Europe’s elite competition last season and have gotten circa €65m this time around. Getting a spot in the quarter-finals would grant a further €20m.
Gazzetta states that RedBid, like Elliott, only sign new players using incomes generated by the club, so going ahead in the competition is the ‘only way to see a competitive Devil’ in the future.
Club owner Cardinale confirmed his trust in Paolo Maldini and Stefano Pioli less than a month ago, but the future in the Champions League is crucial for the club’s strategy.
‘With no future in this Champions League and perhaps in the next one, the current hierarchies would be changed and the same is true of the transfer strategies. The budget for a new forward depends on the Champions League,’ wrote the pink paper.