Milan have been linked with a move to appoint Toulouse President and director of football Damien Comolli as their CEO, but who is the former Arsenal, Tottenham and Liverpool scout and who has he worked with in the past?
Comolli background and Premier League experience
Comolli grew up playing youth football in the academy of AS Monaco before going on to accept a job on the coaching staff with the club’s U16 side. He would later go on to complete a degree in law as well as achieving his coaching badges towards the end of the 1990s.
Comolli was on the books at Monaco under Arsene Wenger’s reign, and the pair would later team up again in England with Arsenal. Comolli moved to North London in 1996 and spent seven seasons as a European scout for the Gunners.
While employed by Arsenal, the first team would go on to win three Premier League titles, including the famed invincibles season in 2003-04, a record that has not been matched to this day.
Comolli has been credited with bringing the likes of Kolo Toure, Emmanuel Eboue and Gael Clichy to the Premier League from his time at Arsenal.
The list of names that Comolli has introduced to England does not stop there, however. He was also heavily involved in the transfer that brought future Ballon d’Or winner Luka Modric to White Hart Lane while working as director of football at Tottenham in 2008.
He was also involved in the signings of Dimitar Berbatov, David Bentley, Benoit Aussou-Ekotto and countless others.
And, in his role as director of football strategy with Liverpool from 2010 onwards, Comolli was cited as being the man who brought both Luis Suarez and Andy Carroll to Anfield on deadline day of the January 2011 transfer window.
Saint-Etienne, Galatasaray and Toulouse
Between his Tottenham and Liverpool spells, there was also a stint as sporting director of Saint-Etienne, although he received a fair share of criticism after a series of unsuccessful signings which left the club with financial difficulties.
Barring a brief spell with Galatasaray, Comolli took a long period out of the game after his Liverpool job, before being appointed as director of football with Toulouse, where he still serves as President.
Following promotion from Ligue 2 in 2021-22, Toulouse went on to win the Coupe de France in 2023, which resulted in a spot in the Europa League for 2023-24.
According to reports from multiple outlets in Italy, legendary statistician and former Moneyball muse Billy Beane was the one who recommended Comolli’s appointment to Toulouse’s ownership group, RedBird, who also own Milan.
With over 30 years’ experience in behind-the-scenes roles, Comolli has been touted as an ideal appointment for the Rossoneri.
Chi è Damien #Comolli, in orbita #Milan: dal colpo #Suarez al #Liverpool fino al #Tolosa del Moneyball https://t.co/AFBfpap1oG
— calciomercato.com (@cmdotcom) April 4, 2024