Milan: over 50 million from RedBird for the capital increase

Capital increase for AC Milan. According to *Il Sole 24 Ore*, Gerry Cardinale’s RedBird has carried out a capital increase of over 50 million euros for AC Milan. This injection is specifically intended to support the sporting project and strengthen the squad, confirming the firm’s commitment to the club’s long-term growth and development. And the ambitious summer transfer campaign (totalling around €150 million, with few players sold, apart from Rafael Leão) is clearly a factor that has driven the club down this path.

According to rumours, the 50 million from the capital increase was paid by the American investors in the fund managed by RedBird, which acquired AC Milan in 2022. It cannot be ruled out that some new investors may also be involved in the deal.

For the Rossoneri, this move strikes a balance between their on-pitch ambitions and their financial stability. The injection of capital from the owners comes following the 2025/26 financial year, which closed with revenues of 464.6 million and a loss of around 24 million, bringing to an end a three-year run of profits. The main factor was the club’s absence from the Champions League, resulting in an estimated shortfall in revenue of 70–80 million. This figure illustrates just how central sporting competitiveness remains, even for a club that has expanded its commercial base. Compared with the 297.7 million recorded in 2021–22 – the last financial year before RedBird’s arrival – revenue has grown by 56.1 per cent. However, compared with 2024/25, there was a 6 per cent decline. Sponsorship revenue, which exceeded 100 million for the first time, and increased ticket sales in Serie A helped to mitigate the impact, though they were not enough to prevent the club from returning to the red.

The shareholder’s contribution forms part of a strategy involving greater use of financial leverage. The net financial position has risen from around 92 to 145.3 million, due to the drawdown of credit facilities to support investments and strategic projects. Shareholders’ equity remains positive at 176.4 million. In an interview with *Il Sole 24 Ore* on 7 October, Cardinale set out the way forward: ‘I have said on several occasions that we must improve the product, making it more appealing and interesting for distributors and the international audience as well’. This was a call to action for the whole of Serie A, but also for Milan, which – like Hollywood, which ‘has become complacent’ – faces the same risk: “If you become complacent and fail to reinvent yourself,” said RedBird’s CEO in the interview, “and if you don’t approach every day with a sense of urgency to innovate, you will be crushed by the competition.”