CM: RedBird’s Milan and Oaktree’s Inter – same targets but different strategies | OneFootball

Tomorrow’s edition of the Derby della Madonnina, the 240th one to be more precise, will be the first with two American ownerships. While RedBird (AC Milan) and Oaktree (Inter) are similar in many ways, they don’t have the same strategies.

Milan have had a rough start to the season and really need to bounce back with a win. However, the derby hasn’t exactly been kind to the Rossoneri in recent years, with Inter winning all of the last six encounters. With the Nerazzurri changing hands, the hope is that the trend will change too.

Indeed, as highlighted by Calciomercato.com, the ownerships of Milan and Inter are rather similar since the Zhang family defaulted on their loan. Just like what happened with Yonghong Li at Milan when Elliott Management took over in 2018.

Scudetto aftermath handled differently

RedBird took over Milan after the 2021-22 season, when they won the Scudetto, and Oaktree arrived in the same situation but earlier this year. Although Gerry Cardinale sat tight for one year before making any changes, he eventually decided to change the entire management, including sacking the club legend Paolo Maldini.

Oaktree, on the other hand, has done practically nothing to the management except add a few members of their own to the board of directors. Beppe Marotta being promoted to president is the only real change, but the rest has stayed the same for the Nerazzurri. In other words, Oaktree clearly believes the best people are there already.

Change in attitude on the stadium front

Since May 2022, when Oaktree took over Inter, the winds have changed on the stadium front. The Zhang family didn’t have a good relationship with Cardinale and RedBird, reportedly upset that the latter even considered a project of their own.

With Oaktree, however, the two clubs have been on the same wavelength in the meetings with Milan Mayor Beppe Sala. A shared stadium now cannot be ruled out if the right opportunity presents itself, even if the Rossoneri remain focused on San Donato.

Focus on young players

Both of the owners want to create value and make the most of their investments, which they now are currently undervalued. As such, there is naturally an increased focus on young players, who can arrive for sometimes nominal amounts and be sold for large profits.

This way of operating somewhat goes against the great history of Milan and Inter, known for signing protagonists and not potential, but this is the time we find ourselves in. In fact, this is a key part of how RedBird and Oaktree are and will operate.

There are countless examples at Milan, but there are not as many at Inter given that Oaktree just arrived. In the summer, though, the ownership decided to focus on Tomas Palacios instead of a free agent such as Ricardo Rodriguez or Mario Hermoso.

In short, Milan and Inter are now similar in many respects, but fundamentally they have very different ways of going about this as a result of the different management styles.