AC Milan fall into red as three-year fiscal hot streak ends

The Serie A team AC Milan (Italy) have unveiled the figures of their financial statements for 2025-2026 thus confirming that the first loss under RedBird’s ownership has been registered.
 

Started Strong

‘sempremilan.com’ stated that after taking over AC Milan from Elliott Management the RedBird Capital Partners started strong – at least financially – with three consecutive profits: €6.1m in 2022-2023, €4.10m in 2023-2024 and €3m in 2024-2025. That run has come to an end with the 2025-2026 financial statements, though.

The AC Milan or simply Milan is an Italian professional football club based in Milan, Lombardy (Italy). Founded in 1899, the club competes in Serie A, the top tier of Italian football.

The Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, commonly known as the San Siro Stadium, is a football stadium in the San Siro district of Milan, Italy. It has a seating capacity of 75,817, making it the largest stadium in Italy and one of the largest stadiums in Europe. It is the home stadium of AC Milan.

Florida (US)-based the Elliott Investment Management (commonly known as the Elliott Management) is a prominent American hedge fund and global investment management firm.

New York (US)-based the RedBird Capital Partners is a private investment firm that builds the high-growth companies with strategic capital solutions to the founders and the entrepreneurs. The firm currently manages over $21 billion in assets on behalf of a global group of blue chip institutional and family office investors.
 

Lack of Revenue

‘sempremilan.com’ further stated that the lack of Champions League (an annual club soccer [football] tournament featuring top teams from across Europe) revenue, or even Europa League (an annual club football competition for the eligible European clubs) revenue, more or less made it impossible for the ‘I Rossoneri’ to maintain their run. They did a good job of collecting a lot from capital gains but it wasn’t enough in the end.
 

Key Figures

Recently, the AC Milan announced the key figures of the 2025-2026 financial statements on their Website thus revealing a loss of €24m. That said, the revenue has remained in line with the last two seasons, even if that figure was affected by the lack of European competitions too.
 

‘Record Levels’

A statement sent out read, “The Board of Directors of AC Milan has approved the draft financial statements for the fiscal year ended June 30^th, 2026, which will be submitted to the Shareholders’ Meeting for approval. The AC Milan generated €464.6 million in revenue during the 2025-2026 fiscal year thus maintaining performance close to the record levels achieved in each of the previous two seasons. The revenue increased by 1.7 percent compared with 2023-2024 and was only six percent below 2024-2025 due to the absence of the European competition. The club’s core revenue streams continued to perform strongly. The commercial revenue continued to grow, driven by partnerships, with sponsorship revenue surpassing €100 million for the first time in AC Milan’s history.”
 

Net Loss

The statement further read, “The matchday performance also remained robust with the AC Milan recording the highest average attendance in Serie A for the second consecutive season thus welcoming more than 72,000 fans per match. The club’s ongoing focus on operational excellence, financial discipline and efficiency initiatives also continued to support the cost control. The AC Milan’s brand continued its upward trajectory during the year. According to Brand Finance, the club reached a record brand value of €514 million in 2026 thus representing 28 percent year-on-year growth and confirming AC Milan as the fastest-growing football brand in the world since 2021. The club recorded a net loss of approximately €24 million thus reflecting the temporary impact of not participating in the European competitions while demonstrating the resilience and diversification of AC Milan’s business model. At year-end, the net financial debt stood at €145.3 million compared with approximately €92 million in the previous fiscal year while the shareholders’ equity totaled €176.4 million. The increase in debt primarily reflects the strategic use of the credit facilities to support the club’s investment program, the growth initiatives and the long-term development projects.”
 

‘Strong Financial Foundation’

The statement concluded, “With a strong financial foundation in place the AC Milan is now entering its next phase of growth thus leveraging RedBird’s owner-operator model which combines the long-term capital with deep operational expertise. During the fiscal year, Massimo Calvelli was appointed the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of AC Milan while continuing to serve as an Operating Partner at RedBird. The club’s sporting ambition remains at the center of its strategy and continues to be supported by substantial investment. At the same time, the new stadium project remains AC Milan’s most significant long-term transformational initiative. A major milestone was achieved during the financial year through the acquisition on November 5^th, 2025 of the San Siro Great Urban Function (a designated real estate and urban planning complex in Milan, Italy), including the Stadio Meazza and the surrounding areas. The project is expected to enhance the club’s long-term economic profile, unlock new growth opportunities and further strengthen AC Milan’s ability to invest sustainably in sporting success and global competitiveness.”
 

New Home

The AC Milan and the local rivals Inter Milan (Serie A) are moving forward with a joint project to build a new 71,500-seat stadium next to the current San Siro Stadium (Stadio Giuseppe Meazza) area.

Continue following Coliseum for the latest updates on sports venues, stadiums and arena business news worldwide.

Coliseum is dedicated to building a global community of sports and entertainment venue professionals helping create better and more profitable venues.

Become a member of the Global Sports Venue Alliance and connect with stadiums, arenas and industry experts from around the world. Apply for membership through the Global Sports Venue Alliance and access the 365Coliseum Business platform.