President Silvio Berlusconi has taken time to outline his plans for Milan and here is what he had to say to Milan Channel from Villa San Marino:

We must look at this present Milan side and think that it is a strong squad with five super champions in attack which no other Italian team can match. I feel we are going to have a very good season, even better than last year when we were decimated by injuries. The economic situation doesn’t allow us to have highly-paid players such as we had in the 90s and 2000, like those which have marked our previous transfer campaigns. Italian football can’t afford that, but it doesn’t mean we are giving up on winning by creating a great team, building a strong youth sector. I want to tell our fans that there is the possibility of building an entertaining and effective side even within a framework that does not allow spending sprees. We must have courage and perhaps a little 'patience, there will be a change in perspective and we know how to build a team of young players who will open a new cycle. I am an optimist.


Football cannot escape the crisis. To spend more than 50million a year in football you have to have incomes that are not there anymore. You can still make good signings looking for talent around the world and it was impossible for us to turn down Paris Saint-Germain’s offer. It has saved us a lot of money in transfers and wages, meaning our finances are secure for many years to come. Unfortunately, time passes for everyone and we had to make painful farewells to 11 players, a choice imposed by the budget, a painful choice, but necessary.

We did not want to sell neither Thiago Silva or Ibrahimovic and turned down the first offer. We then thought about the Financial Fair Play which would not have allowed the deal to go through next year so we had to accept it with our weeping hearts. I am convinced that we won’t miss Ibrahimovic in attack. In defence, we have a new signing in Francesco Acerbi who we believe in and the transfer market is still open. It was our aim to reduce  the squad from last year and this year we can two teams plus a third goalkeeper along with Muntari e Strasser who are outr injured. So I am confident Milan will have a good season.

Italy has an acute financial crisis compared to other countries. On top of that there comes a psychological aspect. I have seen that the clubs that continue to spend a lot have owners who are outside the European system, the very rich from the Arab world or the Russian Federation but they will have to be part of the Financial Fair Play from next year so they are more investing this year. Maybe the door will be open to foregin investment and whatever is good for Milan will be considered as it always is.