Newcastle United signed Sandro Tonali from AC Milan last summer, and Rossoneri owner Gerry Cardinale has been asked how the seven-time European champions can compete with sovereign money.
AC Milan owner Gerry Cardinale has conceded that the Rossoneri must’spend better’ than rivals like as Newcastle United because they cannot ‘outspend’ sovereign wealth funds.
Although Newcastle has not been able to make the most of the PIF’s support due to financial constraints, the Magpies have nonetheless spent around £400 million since the 2021 takeover. Milan, on the other hand, has spent slightly more than a third of that amount on transfers over the same time span.
Newcastle even managed to sign Milan’s standard bearer and future captain, Sandro Tonali, last summer after the Italy international cited a ‘great opportunity’ at St James’ Park. Tonali’s first season at the club, of course, was swiftly ended by a 10-month ban for betting breaches although Milan have always maintained the club ‘first learnt’ about the midfielder’s private gambling addiction in the media.
Tonali did get the chance to return to the San Siro before the ban, when the teams met in the Champions League for the first time ever, and Cardinale was among those who attended a delegates lunch with Newcastle’s hierarchy and Jacobo Solis, the PIF’s head of Europe direct investments, before the game. Milan ended up finishing above Newcastle in the group of death, following a dramatic win in the reverse fixture at St James’ Park, and Cardinale has been asked how the seven-time champions of Europe can compete with clubs backed by sovereign wealth.
“You’re not going to outspend sovereign states, but shame on me if I can’t be the guy that spends an incremental dollar of capital better than anybody else,” he said at the Financial Times’ football business summit. “That is the goal.” “That is how you compete.”People believe that it is the total amount of money spent; however, this is not true. It is spending that additional dollar more effectively, which contributes to all of the change that we are discussing. The techniques rather than deficit financing yourself and locking in cash flow.
“We don’t lock in cash flow because we want to pocket the money. We put it back into these players and the squad.
“The whole objective of the [new] stadium – it has nothing to do with San Siro – is that it increases our cash flow, which allows us to compete more effectively with the Premier League. That’s the only way you’re going to achieve it, and my hope is that everyone, including sovereign governments, understands that we need to shift from outspending everyone to spending better.
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