The strategy has been laid bare.

Is this team worse than last year’s squad? Very possibly, but that doesn’t matter.

Cardinale genuinely does not care how AC Milan perform and what results they get.

I’m far from the first person to point out the commercialization of sports, football specifically. In the last 10 years or so, the game has shifted from being interested in what’s going on ON the pitch (tactics, strategy) to what’s happening behind the scenes (director of sport strategy, corporate strategy). That makes some level of sense, as a 24-hour news apparatus has found a way to insert itself in every aspect of our lives.

We’re now at the point where a large chunk of the owners of professional sports teams are not interested fans who want to have their turn in the sun. The Berlusconi’s of the world (he had his own solipsistic goals for Milan, but you can’t deny he loved the team and was invested in it’s success [selfishly or not]) no longer are a common-breed.

Cardinale could give a fuck about finishing in the Champions League. The only incentive, is it provides revenue, which is corporate-speak for money that Cardinale can generate from the asset in his portfolio that is AC Milan.

He’s a hedge fund guy (boo this man!). He does not care about non-hedge fund things. The reason Milan was of interest in the first place is he saw it as a depreciated asset. His goal is to profit from that. That’s it.

It’s not to “win a title” it’s not to “grow the brand” — only in the sense that it provides more potential revenue — it’s not to have a relationship with the fans. It’s not to do right by the players. It’s not to honor the badge, the shirt, and the history of the club.

He tried to get by with plausible deniability for so long, but I don’t think that’s possible anymore. This transfer window has laid bare how cynical this really is to him.

When I was a kid, I saved my money and bought 10 pokemon card packs, which I opened right in the store. I pulled some quality cards, and the owner of the shop offered to buy them for me, for more packs. So I traded a few cards, for a few more packs, opened those. If I got a good card, I’d in theory trade it in. And do it again. Until eventually, I had only circles, squares and star cards, no more holograms.

Anyway, we miss you Tonali, Tiji, and Paolo.