The search for a team to run Milan had been dragging on for days and weeks since the last group were fired immediately after the season ended in May.
Massimo Calvelli was thought to be de facto CEO, replacing Furlani, and it is indeed the case. The search for experienced names from outside of Milan zeroed in on Ralf Rangnick and after that proved illusive Markus Krosche of Eintracht Frankfurt. Both men’s current teams wanted to keep them and refused to release them. Guarantees or release clauses made the operation collapse. There was also a dose of hesitancy for any candidate due to Milan’s unclear hierarchy and finances. In the end Cardinale has settled for what is deemed an internal team to run operations, at least for now.
The graphic and tweet above from Sky Sports and Nico Schira respectively report the current make up of Milan’s management alongside Amorim, who according to most reports continue to claim has more say in transfers than is usual for Serie A coaches.
As the team closes in on its first transfer of the summer, Goncalo Ramos from PSG, it is Hendrik Almstadt, Bobby Gardiner and Donato Lomonte will be in charge of transfer, data analysis and scouting. The Futuro and youth set up will be handled by Jovan Kirovski and Vincenzo Vergine.
Will this work or is it intended as a temporary solution? Time will tell.
The 2025-2026 season ended in a crisis, an embarrassing one. Falling out of Champions League spot surely was going to have consequences. The rightly unpopular Gerry Cardinale and increasingly unloved Ibra fired Furlani, Tare, Allegri and Moncada immediately. At least two of those were for just cause. The trust to make the right decisions does not exist however. The US style ownership of operating under the so-called moneyball where data analysis is intertwined with financials is rightly loathed by many. Cardinale tried to become more visible and repeat his ambition statement about wanting Milan at the top. It seems that he also took centerstage in the decision making.
Meanwhile Ibra, almost lurking in the background, has been accused of sabotaging Allegri and Milan’s season by talking to certain players while the season was on and by insisting on his friends or preferences for now and the future. Kirovski at the Futuro and reportedly current US national team coach Mauricio Pochettino are questionable choices for now and seasons to come. All in all Ibra’s ego has reduced his standing among many Milan and football fans. Players do not automatically make good managers. In this case his power is even more vague since Ibra does not hold any official Milan role and is a RedBird advisor and investor.
After the purge names like Ralf Rangnick emerged (more like re-emerged). The experienced German and current coach of the Austrian national team asked for total control of the football side, including youth teams, to reshape and rebuild Milan. For some brief moment it looked as if Cardinale was open to the idea of a full rebuild and this gained him some very reluctant support among a segment of fans. The apparent resistance from Ibra and his aforementioned preferences diverted more of the hate to the Swede instead. Reports that Ibra, US bound to cover the World Cup, dropped his resistance opened the door further but apparently Rangnick did not receive a response by his own deadline of World Cup kickoff. So things moved on. Eintracht Frankfurt’s head of football, Markus Krosche, emerged as the strongest name with others like Devin Ozek (Bayer Leverkusen, Fenerbahce) mentioned as well. Markus Krosche is attached to names like Omar Marmoush and is regarded as a good builder.
While waiting for Krosche, still under contract at Frankfurt, to decide or be allowed to leave Cardinale went ahead and signed Ruben Amorim as head coach. But then news came that Krosche has declined the offer despite reportedly being given most of the keys to the team and even a big transfer budget.
While waiting for a football director, sporting director or other to finally arrive Milan moved on to Amorim. The choice has been met with a negative response. Firstly who has hired the coach? Cardinale or Massimo Calvelli (member of Milan’s board of directors)? But then more concretely Amorim’s failure to shake up Manchester United after a successful time at Sporting in Portugal has made for a pessimistic tone among many fans and pundits. His rigidity and unwillingness to tweak his preferred 3-4-2-1 has been cited as a failure. However he arrived at an arguably dysfunctional United team in a November and lasted just over one calendar year unable to make meaningful progress. Some of the blame is his and for example switching to a three at the back is often a bigger change than may seem. His insistence on high, speedy and full of stamina wing backs also requires very good forwards to meet the crosses and additionally good defensive midfielders to recover balls lost when the players are high and possession is lost. This very inflexible reputation can be mitigated if, big if of course, he gets the players that fit his system. If the right investment is made there is less chance of a coach getting stuck in a “the coach can not be this stubborn” trap. Being given time and freedom will go a long way to help too. None of these are guarantees but perhaps Cardinale’s public praise of Amorim upon his hiring provides faint hope.
As of this early in the hiring any names are only hearsay but of course reporters are not going to wait. Francisco Trincao and Morten Hjulmand are early names for the midfield and wing respectively. Both players are fully familiar names for Amorim. What is certain that Milan’s 3-5-2 with Leao and Pulisic as supposed center forwards was borderline criminal. Amorim will have a lot of decision to make, with or without a good budget. This should most certainly include players starting in their natural positions at least.
The search for a director(s) continues while the World Cup is in full swing. Milan’s own preseason starts on July 12th. At least a coach is in place well before this date.
Update: Rangnick has extended with Austrian national team until 2028 Ibra’s influence, and ego, loom large as Rangnick is – according to reports – not going to join Milan
Updated: September 28 with confirmed dates until January 9
The schedule for the 2026-2027 Serie A season has been released (see below for full list), once again rather earlier than many would expect. The season starts on the weekend of August 23 with a visit to Torino and ends on the weekend of May 30th versus Udinese. Two midweek fixture at the end of October and first week of January see Milan play versus Bologna and then against Fiorentina. A long international breaks in September means there is going to be three weeks separating week 5 and week 6 matches, versus Lecce and then at Sassuolo.
Milan will of course have a busier season with Europa League participation entering at the group stage.
Venezia, Frosinone and Monza are the newcomers to Serie A and somewhat familair faces of recent seasons.
Torino vs. Milan – August 23 Milan vs. Venezia – August 28 Juventus vs. Milan – September 6 Lazio vs. Milan – September 12 Milan vs. Lecce – September 20 Sassuolo vs. Milan – October 11 Milan vs. Atalanta – October 18 Udinese vs. Milan – October 25 Milan vs. Bologna – October 28 Milan vs. Inter – October 31 Genoa vs. Milan – November 8 Milan vs. Frosinone – November 22 Cagliari vs. Milan – November 30 Milan vs. Parma – December 6 Napoli vs. Milan – December 13 Milan vs. Como – December 19 Monza vs. Milan – January 2 Milan vs. Fiorentina – January 5 Roma vs. Milan – January 9
Milan vs. Torino – January 17 Frosinone vs. Milan – January 24 Milan vs. Juventus – January 31 Bologna vs. Milan – February 7 Inter vs. Milan – February 14 Milan vs. Genoa – February 21 Como vs. Milan – February 28 Milan vs. Cagliari – March 7 Milan vs. Sassuolo – March 14 Atalanta vs. Milan – March 21 Milan vs. Monza – April 4 Fiorentina vs. Milan – April 11 Milan vs. Napoli – April 18 Lecce vs. Milan – April 25 Milan vs. Lazio – May 2 Parma vs. Milan – May 9 Milan vs. Roma – May 16 Venezia vs. Milan – May 23 Milan vs. Udinese – May 30
American ownership in football has been anything but uncontroversial. By the time Berlusconi first rebuffed Middle Eastern bids but years later sold to Li Yonghong, a Chinese businessman who was all but confirmed to be a fraud, football had changed to be very much a “non-European” interest. Americans found their way to football ownership of course, first to the riches of the English league and more elsewhere on the continent. The nature of these deals swayed to business models where corporate takeover style deals were used to finance deals and investors got into the game with loans and interest to pay.
Elliott Investment Management grabbed Milan back from Li and did what investment funds do. Kept the asset until they wouldn’t. Milan was punted to Redbird Capital Partners who partner “with leading entrepreneurs and holders of the world’s most iconic intellectual property”. Milan had a post banter era high with Maldini at the helm but due to demands and differing visions this was never likely to be a lasting setup under an ownership of the type alluded to above.
Prioritizing or even holding equal value to finances and growing the product on the pitch is difficult and for teams outside of the English league doubly so. Doing it without an owned stadium is a further impediment.
Milan’s RedBird story includes Ibra. The Swede returned to Milan to finish his footballing career with praise, popularity and even a rescue mission feel. He retired to tears and then was offered an advisory and partnership role in Gerry Cardinale’s RedBird. His stock has fallen ever since. To the point of him being seen to interfere with team’s personnel and coaches and worse still to the point of sidestepping normal operating structures to talk to players and fight with Allegri as has been reported.
This summer, following the dismissal of Furlani, Tare, Allegri and Moncada he is seen as a person to rebuild the team. Or is he? Fan fury and indeed Cardinale’s own reluctance seem to be pushing Ibra aside and mitigating his influence. As of this writing many fans are willing to, perhaps reluctantly, trust the American owner in the perception that he is willing to hand over the keys to someone experienced in rebuilding a football team, Ralf Rangnick. Rangnick has some credit to his name as a football director at Red Bull (Leipzig, Salzburg, etc.) among others. The German has apparently demanded total control of the football side if he is to accept the job and that means he will be the one choose the first team coach to replace Allegri. Will this be accepted? Cardinale and Milan board member Massimo Calvelli seems to be okay with it and the latter who is set to take on Furlani’s CEO role is reported to be pushing for it. Ibra, on the other hand, is at rick of losing his legacy. According to some he of the famously big self confidence is insisting on more power, some of which may be handed over to his friend Jovan Kirovski. Kirovski is of course currently in charge of the Milan Futuro project. Ibra may further use his power to pursue the likes of Mauricio Pochettino, currently the coach of the US national team. For his part Rangnick could look to appoint Oliver Glasner, most recently of Crystal Palace, or Matthias Jaissle, ex Red Bull Salzburg and currently coaching the Al-Ahli team in Saudi Arabia.
Milan is entering another big revolution, with many names almost certain to surface as the days go by. This was not envisioned for this summer with an experienced, or put another way a stabilizing, coach like Allegri. However everyone at Milan seems to have played a part in sabotaging the 2025-2026 season that looked sound at least. Another long summer, another year zero at Milan.
