CEO Giorgio Furlani assures Milan ‘do not need to sell’ stars like Rafael Leao, Mike Maignan and Theo Hernandez, who are all ‘happy to remain.’
The Rossoneri chief was a guest on DAZN on Monday evening and was pressed on the transfer speculation around the squad, particularly their biggest names.
“We do not need to sell anyone to cover losses,” said Furlani.
“Being a club running at a profit, we have the possibility to invest from the start. Leao, Maignan and Theo Hernandez are happy to remain at Milan and they have long contracts.”
Rafael Leao only recently signed his deal until June 2028, although it is believed to have a release clause in the region of €175m.
Theo Hernandez has been linked with bids from Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain, but his contract does not expire until June 2026 and the left-back does not seem particularly eager to move on.
Maignan is the most likely for a summer departure, as his contract is also to June 2026, though there is said to be a significant gap between his wage demands and the salary on offer to renew.
However, when it comes to Olivier Giroud, the writing is on the wall for his free transfer to MLS club LAFC.
So will Milan replace him with a big name in attack?
“Giroud wrote history at Milan and is still performing at a high level. We’ll see what he decides at the end of the season,” added Furlani.
“We were not timid on the transfer market last season and we won’t be this year either. There’s no point signing players just for the sake of it and putting the club’s finances in danger. We must continue improving the team and making buys that aren’t just to hit the headlines, but who are useful.
“The philosophy is to improve the squad, as last season we made a lot of changes, whereas this summer it will be more targeted, because the foundations are in place.”
How do Milan identify the players who are most suited to their project?
“We analyse scouting and statistics, look at the medical history and personality of the player, as well as obviously the financial aspect.”
Milan growing revenue
Since taking over from Elliott Management, RedBird have been focused on not just cutting costs, but above all increasing revenue.
“We are now at circa €400m revenue. How much more we can grow is a complicated question, as it depends on the activities we have with our partners like Puma, MSC, Emirates, in part it depends on the UEFA competitions, the work we do in Serie A to increase the revenue of the league, above all on a media level.
“And then there is the stadium, which is very important. Look, I had a season ticket at San Siro with my father. San Siro is a special place and all football fans say San Siro is one of the top five stadiums in the world.
“However, when it comes to being a stadium that creates resources that can then be reinvested in the team, San Siro today is a dated product.”