‘Why City Group invest in Palermo’

Alberto Galassi explains why City Football Group invested in Palermo, acquiring a majority stake in the club: ‘It was an easy choice…’

The City group has completed the club’s takeover and the new owners presented their project to the press and the fans during a press conference on Monday.

Galassi is a member of City Group’s board of directors and attended the press conference along with the CEO Ferran Soriano and Dario Mirri who has remained in charge as the club’s president despite holding a minority stake in the club.

“It was an easy choice,” Galassi told Sky Sport Italia.

“City didn’t own a club in Italy, the fans here are amazing and are known worldwide. We made this choice before the playoffs. We picked Palermo regardless of the sporting result.”

The Rosanero were promoted to Serie B after beating Padova in the Serie C playoffs.

“It’s a great club with a great president who remains in charge,” the Italian lawyer continued.

“Personally, I love Sicily, and I hope to be here frequently. Being part of this family will be important for Palermo. City put our resources at their disposal. We have over 4,000 employees worldwide. We have new technologies and the opportunity to experiment and innovate, bring in players and develop talents.

“We are going to build a new training centre, personally, I am thrilled to be here.

“Manchester City have rapports and knowledge everywhere, so I expect Palermo to benefit from it. However, the specificity of the place should not change. Palermo is Palermo, and Italy is Italy. We can’t copy and paste what we already have. The strength of Palermo is Dario Mirri and this club and city should thank him forever.”

Coach Silvio Baldini will remain in charge and the same is true of sporting director Renzo Castagnini. The new owners appreciate how the club has developed over the last few years and won’t change much in the sporting area.

“Manchester City changed three coaches in 12 years, so we’ve kept stability. We don’t want to change anything [at Palermo], especially after the latest victories,” Galassi said.

“We are here to share the knowledge and the financial resources necessary for a serene season in Serie B. We’ll see if there is a chance to get promoted to Serie A, but the initial target is to have a quiet season in Serie B.”

Storied Italian clubs such as Genoa, Brescia, Benevento, Parma, Venezia and Cagliari will all play in Serie B next season.

“We must dream, we all want to bring this club to Serie A, but we must be realistic and humble. That’s our target, but we are not obliged to reach it in one or two seasons. Serie B will be very competitive. It shouldn’t even be called Serie B, Serie A 2 makes more sense,” the lawyer concluded.