The wage bill was a product of a squad built in the typical Milan traditions, replicated so often across Italy: older players with experience and others with lofty reputations to withstand the pressure described by the colloquialism “la maglia è pesante” (the shirt is heavy.)
“There were a lot of contracts like that, almost too many to name — expensive players like Bonucci for example,” Gazidis explains. “They signed Gianluigi Donnarumma, an excellent goalkeeper, but to a huge contract in order to keep him. Go through the team, the contracts were out of whack with performance. There were probably 10 different examples of players who fall into that category. And players, when they are overpaid relative to their performance, are really difficult to get out.
“We’re actually just getting to the end of unpicking the last ones this season to make the wage bill more efficient. But when you are able to get those players out, you need someone to play. The only way to bring new ones in is to spend money and then the question is how to spend effectively and efficiently.”
Alongside Elliott executive Giorgio Furlani, Gazidis decided to instigate a shift towards investing in youth, not an original approach by itself but one particularly at odds with convention in Italy. Short-termism is standard; experience is lionised. Fans are unforgiving.
“We faced a lot of scepticism about the policy of signing young players, especially in Milan,” he continues. “Italy in general I think is sceptical about giving young players a chance, Milan in particular because of the pressure of the crowd and the San Siro environment has a reputation that young players can get crushed there.”
In Gazidis’ first transfer window, Higuain’s loan was ended abruptly — a statement of intent by itself — while young prospects Lucas Paqueta, then 21, and Krzysztof Piatek, then 23, were acquired from Flamengo and Genoa respectively as a sign of things to come.
But it was the summer of 2019 when the nucleus of Milan’s team began to develop. Ismael Bennacer, 21, Theo Hernandez, 21, Rade Krunic, 25 and Rafael Leao, 20, were among the incomings as the average age of the squad began to fall — Milan had an average age of 29.7 in 2009-10, the highest in Serie A; by 2020-21 it stood at 24.3, the club’s lowest in two decades — and underperforming high-earners were moved on.
“Those players we signed that summer are still core elements of the team today,” said Gazidis, whose recruitment strategy was honed at Arsenal by the club’s experience of using StatDNA, a U.S.-led analytics company the Gunners acquired in 2012 and took in-house to inform their transfer policy.
“Very often, what I see at football clubs is the scouting and the analytics are at odds and that creates an issue inside the club. We managed to line them up extremely well together. Analytics are facts. Saying you don’t believe in analytics is like saying you don’t believe in facts. There are explanations behind the facts you need to look at. Facts don’t give you the answers, but they can ask a lot of very relevant questions. It isn’t so much about concept as it is about execution.”
That execution also relied on the input of sporting director Frederic Massara, chief scout Geoffrey Moncada (both appointed by Gazidis), and Paolo Maldini, the legendary former Milan defender turned technical director.
“In the recruitment process, Paolo is fundamental, speaking to each of these players to understand the way they think and what is motivating them.” Gazidis explains. “We call him our point of reference. Paolo is speaking to the agent as an initial point of contact.
“The next conversation is directly between Paolo and the player, with Ricky as well. Immediately, he is developing a relationship in the recruitment phase because he knows the insecurities that young players have. He’s been through it all himself, he knows their concerns.
“Theo is a good example. He’d been in the Real Madrid system but had been out on loan and they were prepared to let him go. Paolo met him in Ibiza where he was on holiday in the summer. They sat and had a coffee or lunch together and a long conversation where they formed a bond that still exists today.
“Paolo really understood that Theo had development to do as a footballer, but also as a young man, and Paolo took him under his wing. You still see it today. Paolo goes to the training ground virtually every single day.
“He’s not intrusive into the coach’s territory but always has a word for a player for what they are going through, what happened in the last match. This morning with Theo, the two say hello to each other and there’s a big hug. Theo looks at Paolo almost as a second father. Paolo has that relationship with number of the players.”
Italian football resumed on Friday, June 12 as Milan drew 0-0 with leaders Juventus in the Coppa Italia semifinal second leg (losing 1-1 on away goals). Juve went on to win their seventh consecutive Serie A title while Milan ended in sixth place, 17 points adrift. But the coda to their campaign hinted at the alchemy Gazidis describes.
Pioli’s side were unbeaten in their final 12 matches, winning nine times and amassing a higher points tally during that period than anyone else in the division. Milan continued to build, adding experience in Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Simon Kjaer, a sprinkling of older heads to help guide a young group.
“Both of them contributed a lot,” Gazidis says. “They came in and provided broad shoulders for the young players. Ibra never accepts less than 110% from anybody at any time. Ibra was extremely demanding on everybody. We actually tried to bring him in a year earlier, but Ibra felt it wasn’t the right time.
“He was playing with the LA Galaxy and wanted one more year there. With Zlatan, he’s obviously a very powerful personality. If he came into the wrong environment, that could lead to friction. I think our environment was the perfect challenge for him, one of the biggest in his career. Could he lead this group to a Scudetto? He really embraced that.”
And how. Europa League football returned to San Siro while Milan challenged for the Serie A title in 2020-21, remaining unbeaten domestically until early January when they were top of the league before defeat to Juventus triggered an inconsistent run of results. Rivals Inter ended up winning the title by 12 points, but Milan’s second-place finish secured a return to the Champions League for the first time in seven years.
Milan acted again in the market, spending a reported total of €80m to bring in defender Fikayo Tomori from Chelsea, goalkeeper Mike Maignan from Lille, as well as veteran striker Olivier Giroud, among others.
But it was the development of the existing core group which really propelled Milan forward in 2021-22. Primarily set-up in a 4-2-3-1 system, Pioli encouraged players to rotate attacking positions. Franck Kessie and Ismael Bennacer (or Sandro Tonali) provided cover as defensive midfielders, while the work Maldini had done with Hernandez helped him develop beyond all recognition.
The biggest transformation came in Leao, the poster boy for Milan’s new market approach, as he became one of the hottest properties in European football. Sources have told ESPN that Chelsea had a verbal offer for Leao rejected three days from the end of the last transfer window. Speculation persists that they are one of several clubs that could return with a new offer in January, while Milan try to tie down the Portuguese winger to a new contract.
“Rafa didn’t have an easy time here,” Gazidis says. “He wasn’t playing and when he did, his performances were up and down. He needed a little bit of time. He got that time and support. We didn’t deviate from our plan very much. And where we spent bigger money, we didn’t deviate from it at all.
“We had to have green lights from scouting, analytics, Maldini and me on the finances. The finances had to get into order and spending required Elliott to put more money into the club in the short-term and to have the faith in this group of people to make the right decision.”
That faith was rewarded last season in the most emphatic way: Milan won their first Serie A title in 12 years — and their 19th in total — finishing two points above Inter, eight clear of Napoli and 16 in front of Juventus. Leao won the Serie A MVP award, finishing with 11 goals and 10 assists from 34 games. And the average age of the squad was just 25.8, with only Spezia, Empoli and Torino recording a lower number.
