AC Milan CEO Ivan Gazidis will leave the club when his contract expires this November, according to Gianluca Di Marzio.
Milan board member and Elliott Management portfolio manager Giorgio Furlani will take over the position.
Gazidis leaves the club after four successful years in which Milan regained the Serie A title despite their limited finances.
The club has made steady progress under the South-African born businessman. They finished fifth in his first season.
In the 2020/21 campaign, Milan finished second in Serie A to qualify for the Champions League for the first time since 2012/13.
The Rossoneri won the Scudetto for the first time since 2011 last term/
A return to Major League Soccer (MLS) could be on the cards for Gazidis. He is an experienced football leader after working in top positions in the game since 1994.
He moved to the United States in 1992 and was a founding member of the MLS. Gazidis became the deputy commissioner of the league in 2001.
Gazidis officially took over as CEO of Arsenal in January 2009. He stayed in the role until 2018 when he joined Milan.
The news of Gazidis’ departure comes as RedBird Capital Partners completed the acquisition of Milan. They bought the club from Elliott Investment Management in a deal worth $7.5 billion.
Milan will now be under RedBird’s global sports and entertainment portfolio. They include Fenway Sports Group (Liverpool FC, Boston Red Sox, Pittsburgh Penguins), Toulouse FC, Rajasthan Royals, the YES Network, the SpringHill Company, Skydance Media, the XFL, OneTeam Partners and Dream Sports.
RedBird Founder and Managing Partner Gerry Cardinale said (via the club’s website): “Our vision for Milan is clear. We will support our talented players, coaches, and staff to deliver success on the pitch and allow our fans to share in the extraordinary experiences of this historic club.
“We will look to leverage our global sports and media network, our analytics expertise, our track record in sports stadium developments and hospitality to deliver one goal – maintaining Milan’s place at the summit of European and world football.”
Milan will also enter a strategic partnership with Yankee Global Enterprises (YGE). They own the New York Yankees, one of the most valuable sports franchises worldwide.
RedBird has a long-standing relationship with the Yankees and the Steinbrenner family.
