AC Milan seek to scratch another 17-year itch with major US moves and IShowSpeed

AC Milan have been at the forefront of trying to get Serie A to capture the American market

AC Milan advisor Zlatan Ibrahimovic (GETTY IMAGES)

Only Real Madrid have been crowned the kings of Europe more than AC Milan.

Seven-time winners of the competition, and runners-up four times, the success of the Italian giants over the years has seen them earn their place at the very top table of the global game.

But for a generation of Milan fans, the days of Gianni Rivera, Marco van Basten, Franco Baresi, Paolo Maldini, Andrea Pirlo, and Kaka are long gone, the game having moved in a different direction and the power of the English Premier League having left Serie A, once the league to rule all leagues, trailing some way behind.

Spain’s La Liga and the German Bundesliga can lay claim to taking up the second and third spot in terms of the European leagues that are the most lucrative, with the Italian top tier having suffered over the past 20 years or so, not helped by corruption at the top level around match-fixing.

The revenue differential that exists between the Premier League and Serie A is three to one. The English top flight continues to be the dominant force globally, the league that manages to get the most cut-through in major emerging markets, and that has been borne out in the value of the broadcast rights, which sit currently at £11bn, with £5bn of that made up from international rights. When the international rights cycle comes up for grabs again soon it is anticipated that the value of the overseas rights will, once again, outpace that of the domestic ones.

America is a major driving force behind that growth, with the current US media deal some £2bn. In comparison, the value of Serie A’s media rights in North America, a nation that is now catching on to ‘soccer’ in a big way leading up to the 2026 World Cup in the nation, had been pegged at around $75m per season with CBS.

Despite being world-renowned, illustrious football brands, what can clubs do about turning around their fortunes overseas and appealing to new markets to raise commercial and broadcast revenues to aid their bid to close the revenue gap that exists between themselves and the likes of the Premier League and La Liga?

AC Milan have already started making in-roads. But how?