Zlatan Ibrahimovic has shed further light on how his time away from AC Milan ended up being so short-lived and how he was tempted back to the club.
Ibrahimovic had two different spells at Milan as a player, retiring at the end of the 2022-23 season, but he wasn’t away for long as he began a third different spell, swapping the pitch for the office this time.
There were some doubts about his exact role as ‘Senior Advisor’, but Swede has an all-encompassing position it seems. He is regularly seen around the training ground and has a large influece across several aspects.
Ibrahimovic did an interview with GQ Italia in which he spoke about many things from the make-up of the current management to the project being carried out, and he was asked how he ended up back at Milan to begin with.
“I wasn’t even looking for something to do. No challenge, nothing. I said to myself: ‘Take your time. Watch what happens. Slow down. Get used to the new life’. And after three months I came to visit the guys here at Milan,” he said.
“I spoke to Furlani, the CEO. He liked our chat and said to me: ‘You should meet Gerry Cardinale’. So I met him. We talked. He wanted to know more about me, what I wanted, and who I am. Get to know me better.
Then he said to me: ‘I want you to be in RedBird. Not in Milan. In RedBird. I want you to work with Milan. Bring your experience. Learn the other side of football, the one you don’t see on the pitch. The finances, the numbers, how everything works.
“I’m someone who loves big challenges. When I do something, it has to be something huge. Otherwise, I don’t feel the adrenaline, the pressure. And I need pressure. I don’t like normal things.
“At first I said no, I’m not interested. Also because when my agent Mino Raiola passed away, a couple of years ago, I had the opportunity to join his company, and become an agent.
“I thought about it. And I was clear with Gerry: I said, listen, I have this opportunity, and I also have the one you’re offering me, but in reality… I don’t want either of them. Because my life at that time was beautiful like this.
“I didn’t depend on anyone. No schedule to follow. No seven o’clock alarm. The only plan I had were my two ninjas, my two boys, and Helena. And then obviously life at home, training. And then, what happened?
“It was Gerry, like I told you. He pushes. He pushes hard. Now I understand why he’s successful: he never gives up. He’s the real Wolf of Wall Street. He always gets what he wants.
“In the end, he gave me an opportunity that I couldn’t say no to. And then my wife also said to me: ‘If I know you well, I know that after a while you’ll get bored. You need a challenge. Go, do what you have to do and be yourself.’
“And she knows me well. And no, it’s not about money. Because I’m not paid by Milan, you understand? I’m not an employee of Milan. I work for RedBird. But my responsibility is clear: to take AC Milan where it belongs. To win.”
