Among the big changes Gerry Cardinale chose to make is to bring in a new CEO, but what will happen with Giorgio Furlani?
Milan fans have long been demanding that Furlani leave, even protesting against him inside and outside the stadium. He was fired on Monday along with the other three figures Cardinale blamed for this year’s failure: Massimiliano Allegri, Igli Tare and Geoffrey Moncada.
While the latter three have now closed the book, further formal steps will be needed for the CEO’s departure, which will be finalised at the next board meeting when his successor is named. Currently, three names are in the running to replace him.
Next steps and replacements
Yesterday, MilanNews reported that Furlani was not present at the Board of Directors meeting held at Casa Milan. Indeed, one of the items on the board’s agenda was to address the CEO’s responsibilities to ensure continuity at the club until a successor is found.
Furlani is still acting as the club’s managing director for all day-to-day administration, and for this reason, he will be the one to sign the contract resolution with Allegri. The manager will sign a two-year contract with Napoli, saving the club approximately €5.2m net next season.
At the next board meeting, expected at the end of the month, the budget will be approved, and it is hoped that the club’s new CEO will be appointed, definitively closing the Furlani chapter.
This morning, Tuttosport attempted to identify the main candidates in the running to replace Furlani. Compared to the initial days when Italian profiles circulated like Giovanni Carnevali, Claudio Fenucci and Adriano Galliani, the trend in the last few hours seems to be toward a foreign name.
The recruiting effort is being handled by Massimo Calvelli, another of Cardinale’s right-hand men at RedBird, who has three names in the running. The one attracting the most interest is Michael Edwards, currently CEO of Liverpool.
Ian Ayre is another potential candidate, also a former Liverpool employee but currently at Nashville SC in MLS. Massimo Ferrari is the third name, an Italian but internationally renowned. He served on the Milan board from 2020 to 2022 and who has since stepped down as head of WeBuild.