Playing Hard to Get

After media rumors had reported not only a sale of a majority share of the club, but also who would be coming and going in the organization, Milan fans with their hearts set on the mysterious Mr. Bee had a slap in the face of reality when reports began that Silvio Berlusconi was still courting other investors. Even more so when Berlusconi himself began to speak about multiple investors still in talks. Worse still was when the club President spoke so highly of himself and admitted that he was likely to simply hang on to the club without any new investors at all. For Milan fans who have been dreaming of a cash infusion from anywhere, this was one of the worst examples ever of playing hard to get.

"Call me.... maybe I'll meet with you, maybe I won't... it's up to me... you know you want me"

This would not be the first time Berlusconi has been a tease to the Milan fans, and apparently, it will also not be the last. He delusionally thinks that someone wants to invest in Milan only to have a minority share of the club, which doesn’t give them any real say in the way things are run. But I will say this, the way he’s going about this, anyone who would blindly invest in the club after the way he’s been speaking in the media, they deserve to lose their money.

Then there are the xenophobic, if not downright racist comments he’s been making about an all-Italian team. How does that make players like Diego Lopez, Nigel De Jong, all of our French players, etc. feel? The kind of players we need to hold on to if we are to successfully rebuild? And has he so quickly forgotten that it was three Dutch players who came in after he bought the club that gave him the trophies he hoards like a dragon?

The days of champagne football are long gone. We can't even get boxed wine football. Now it's just juicebox football

For anyone who was hoping for some changes this summer, there won’t be any. Or actually, there will. Galliani has promised a “big” mercato, meaning we will be shuffling the deck of our squad once again, getting rid of players who have been there for a while, pocketing that cash, and getting older, less able players to replace them. Because that’s how he rolls. We’ll see if he adheres to the “all-Italian” criteria, if he does that, it will be even worse.

But one thing that never changes is Berlusconi’s megalomaniac ways. His overinflated views of himself continue to go unchecked, despite his own personal legal and financial issues, which are finally catching up to him. Which is why he can afford to court consortiums worth billions, tell them how much Milan needs them, then offend them in the media. It’s not about Milan, it’s about him. It always has been, only now he’s no longer willing to put his money where his mouth is. Which is why no one in their right mind would otherwise play so hard to get. Thanks, Silvio.

This post inspired by the music of Muse’s “Megalomania”

Our next match is

Milan vs. Torino

Sunday, May 24 • 20:45 CEST (2:45pm EDT)