GAZIDIS: "WE WANT TO STRENGTHEN AS A TEAM AND A CLUB"

AC Milan, under the tutelage of Stefano Pioli, began their 2020/21 season at Milanello. It'll be a hugely important year, in which it will be vital that the Club builds upon the forward strides taken in the second half of last season. To open the new season, Ivan Gazidis, Paolo Maldini and Frederic Massara released the first initial statements live on Milan TV and the AC Milan Official App.

Here are the words of our Chief Executive Officer, Ivan Gazidis:

THE NEW SEASON
"We're really happy to be back to work, ready for the new season. The COVID-19 crisis remains an incredibly tough battle to fight. We have a lot of responsibility. Football plays an important role in the return to normality. We hope to be able to re-open the stadia soon. Fans are essential and we miss them a lot, but we'll need to do this in total safety."

THE TRANSFER WINDOW
"We have a young squad, which is growing in a very positive manner. This development will need to proceed with continuity in teaching. We also want to reinforce the squad. It's important for a good team to have a blend of youth and experience. The Club has a big task ahead of it: improve the squad, breaking even and making it sustainable and profitable. More modern too. It's a long road, but we're doing everything we can. The new stadium will be an important part of this project."

IBRAHIMOVIĆ
"From the moment he returned, Zlatan played an important role in the season just gone. Our desire is for this relationship to continue. Zlatan plays a leading role in the team, in terms of the young players' development too. We're doing everything possible to ensure that negotiations succeed, I'm optimistic."

THE OWNERSHIP
"We're fortunate to have a strong and stable ownership in Elliott, who have made significant investments. The important thing is to make the right investments, following our philosophy. One of the main factors, to which we must pay attention, is finances, but also sport. It will be an unusual transfer window, so we mustn't make any mistakes in who we purchase. Perhaps there will be more movement and chances towards the end; we'll make sure that we're ready."

THE CLUB
"We're involved in various activities. The modernisation of the Club is obviously linked to happenings on the pitch - the football being played - but not only that. I repeat that the new stadium will be a fundamental part of our future. On the stadium and in general from a commercial point of view, we're making a lot of progress. We want the squad to grow, the young players to develop and new signings to settle in as quickly as possible. In the last summer window, we brought in some players, who weren't too famous - Bennacer and Hernández for example, but our work and structure caused their quality to come to the fore."

THE FANS
"I want to say two things. The first; we all would've liked to have you here today, therefore we're trying to be as clear and as transparent as we possibly can. The second; we have a difficult job, which is not without its problems, but we're putting all of our passion and effort into it. We're all united, all heading in the same direction. We need you, your support. We want to take AC Milan back to where it belongs and I'm convinced that we're going in the right direction. It will neither be a simple nor speedy journey, but we'll continue to walk this path together."

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