“AC Milan’s U.S. Tour: Inside the American Takeover of European Soccer”
AC Milan will soon be at an MLB ballpark or NFL stadium near you. The historic Italian soccer club, now 124 years old, is on a glamorous tour in the U.S. this week. They’re playing two friendly matches in iconic American sports venues and star player Christian Pulisic is even making an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.
On Saturday, AC Milan will face Manchester City at Yankee Stadium, and on July 31, the “Red and Blacks” will take on Real Madrid at Soldier Field, home of the NFL’s Chicago Bears.
“The U.S. is a really important market for us,” AC Milan CEO Giorgio Furlani told Front Office Sports in an interview at their New York studio. “America is the biggest sports market in the world, and we want to be relevant here.”
Before last year’s tour on the West Coast, AC Milan hadn’t visited the U.S. in five years. CEO Giorgio Furlani predicts that the team will now come to the U.S. more frequently. The U.S. is AC Milan’s second-largest market globally, accounting for nearly 20% of its jersey sales.
AC Milan is not alone in focusing on growth in the U.S. Bayern Munich set the precedent ten years ago by opening a permanent office in New York, and several other European clubs have followed suit.
According to Furlani, the trend goes beyond attracting new fans and building the brand. U.S. private investment is a major factor. Numerous non-American soccer teams are now owned by U.S. family offices or private equity groups.
In 2017, Silvio Berlusconi sold AC Milan to Chinese investors. The club later changed hands to Elliott Management before RedBird Capital Partners acquired it in 2022. (RedBird IMI, a joint venture partner of RedBird Capital Partners, is an investor in Front Office Sports.)
Growing Number of U.S. Investors
- Inter Milan: Oaktree Capital Management
- Liverpool: Fenway Sports Group (owners of the Red Sox and Pirates)
- Leeds United: 49ers Enterprises
- Arsenal: Stan Kroenke (owner of the L.A. Rams)
- Chelsea: Clearlake Capital and Todd Boehly (part owner of the L.A. Dodgers)
- Aston Villa: Group co-led by Wes Edens (owner of the Milwaukee Bucks)
Giorgio Furlani says this trend is quietly leading to the professionalization of European clubs in various ways. According to Furlani, European soccer has not been truly professionalized for many decades.
Sophisticated U.S. investor groups see these globally recognized soccer clubs as under-managed, under-invested, and not professionalized, identifying a massive opportunity to professionalize the industry, leagues, and teams, similar to what has happened in American sports.
Real Madrid, a rival of AC Milan, is an exception to this trend. It is fan-owned by its club members, known as “socios.” After spending $2 billion on stadium upgrades, including a retractable roof and turf, Real Madrid set a single-season revenue record last year for any professional team: $1.16 billion. In the U.S., only the NFL’s Cowboys have surpassed $1 billion in revenue.
AC Milan, which had revenue of around $423 million last year, is well aware of Real Madrid’s success. Furlani says, “We look at what they’ve been able to do, and we look at that as a target.” AC Milan has now had two consecutive years of profitability after decades of losses. Furlani believes there’s no reason they can’t reach Real Madrid’s level, highlighting a significant upside for the club to achieve. DAVESPORTSCOMPEX.COM