GdS: The €1.783bn USA derby – Milan vs. Roma is Cardinale vs. Friedkin | OneFootball

AC Milan will welcome Roma to San Siro tonight for the final game of 2024, and it will be a duel between two clubs with American ownerships.

As La Gazzetta dello Sport write, Milan-Roma is a game worth €1.783bn. That is the total commitment from the two American owners, up to now. It is a lot of money, but nothing close to the outlays needed to buy an NFL or NBA franchise, where company valuations have reached dizzying figures like the Dallas Cowboys at €10bn.

Both Gerry Cardinale and Dan Friedkin believe that the construction of a stadium of their own is essential. The Giallorossi No.1 must also bring Roma back to the Champions League in order to pursue that economic-financial balance that Milan have already virtuously achieved.

RedBird have just refinanced the vendor loan used – back in the summer of 2022 – to complete the acquisition of the club. The loan granted by the seller Elliott (€560m, then reduced to €550m, at an interest rate of 7%) would have expired in August 2025.

Cardinale acted ahead of time by extending the deadline to July 2028 and reducing the exposure by €170m, so now the residual capital quota is equal to €489m. Those €170m are added to the initial investment of €600m, as part of a deal that assigned Milan an equity value of €1.15bn.

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There is an enterprise value (including debt) of €1.2bn, and added to the above are the capital payments of €55m (€40m in 2022-23, €15m in 2023-24), functional to the real estate (stadium) project. The total is €825m.

Friedkin’s commitment is €958m, albeit over double the period of time. Much of the sum allocated by RedBird was used to take control of the shares of Milan, which clearly has a much higher corporate value. Elliott Management handed over a club to Cardinale that was healthy and back in the Champions League.

This saved the new ownership from having to feed the Rossoneri’s needs, limiting equity contributions to the San Donato project and focusing efforts on the brand’s global growth strategies. It is no coincidence that Milan closed the two financial statements signed by RedBird in profit, a completely different story compared to Roma.

Friedkin has overseen four balance sheets in the red, with an aggregate loss of €589m promptly covered by the ownership, which also contributed to repaying the €275m bond. The largest portion of the investment was, therefore, destined to support the club’s current needs.

The 2023-24 financial year – although with revenues growing to €254m – registered a deficit of €81m, while the net financial position of €-432m absorbs approximately €300m in loans from the partner still to be converted into capital.

Milan expect another balanced financial year in 2024-25. Cardinale, by refinancing the loan, now has more time to achieve the intentions on the stadium, possibly opening the doors to new partners. Roma expect to reduce losses by June 30, 2025, but self-sufficiency is still far away.