According to documents confirmed by CEO Ivan Gazidis, AC Milan lost 145.9 million Euros in the 2018-2019 season. This is a record loss in Rossoneri's history, 20 million Euros higher than the previous year's record loss.
This figure is much worse than previous predictions for losses that could reach up to 90 million Euros. If they continue to lose as they are now, Milan is at risk of going bankrupt and being relegated to Serie D. If we count from 2014, it will be a terrible number: 413 million Euros after only 5 years.
For the past 3 years, Milan has continuously changed owners. Silvio Berlusconi sold Milan for about 730 million Euros to Yonghong Li. However, the Chinese boss could not do profitable business to pay the full amount.
He borrowed about 270 million Euros from Elliott Investment Fund to own Milan and was officially unable to repay the debt last year. According to MilanNews, the Rossoneri's record losses are also part of a natural shift in Elliott Management's AC Milan restructuring process.
According to Football Italia, members of the board of directors of Milan club were also surprised by the just announced figure, because they had previously estimated to have lost only about 100 million Euros. There are many reasons for Milan's record losses, the most worrying of which is the decline in revenue.
Elliott Investment Fund has poured money to buy players with the ambition of reviving the team. Sky Sports Italia confirmed that they have "pumped" 325 million Euros into Rossoneri over the past year. CEO Ivan Gazidis also admitted that without Elliott's investment, Milan would have gone bankrupt and had to be relegated.
According to statistics, AC Milan's losses are like an upward chart. From 91 million Euros in 2014 to 126 million Euros in the 2017-2018 season. This is the result of over-swinging, spending exceeding the revenue level from the famous 2017-2028 season.
The San Siro team also spent a lot of money to renovate the stadium, the practice room and borrow players. Coach Gattuso has borrowed Juventus' Gonzalo Higuain and Chelsea's Bakayoko, but both of these stars have not left much of an impression.
AC Milan's sponsorship revenue decreased by 6.7 million Euros while ticket sales also decreased by 1.2 million Euros. However, Milan also had two notable increases including club operating expenses - 373 million Euros (up 5.1%) and television rights - from 109.3 million Euros to 113.8 million Euros.
If Milan returns to the Champions League, the financial picture will be brighter. But last year (the 2018-2019 season) they only reached 241.1 million Euros, down 6.1% of the previous season's revenue. This is the result of the Rossoneri being eliminated from the European Cup for violating the Financial Fairness Law, resulting in a decrease in revenue from sponsors and ticket sellers.
This season, Milan has had a pretty bad start. Coach Marco Giampaolo was fired after only 7 matches. Stefano Pioli will be Milan's 8th coach in the past 5 years. At the moment, Milan is 13th in Serie A with 4 losses after the first 7 rounds.
