Sitting at the 12th and 13th position in the standings respectively, AC Milan and Inter Milan would like nothing more than the Serie A season to conclude as quickly as possible. Once cornerstones of Italian football, AC Milan and Inter Milan have been both underwhelming and underperforming in recent seasons. Do these recent hardships warrant enough concern for the possibility of a merger? Controversial agent Carmine “Mino” Raiola believes that it does.
Representing Ibrahimovic, Balotelli and Pogba, Raiola is no stranger to controversy and outspokenness. Two days ago, Raiola suggested to Italian newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport that AC Milan and Inter Milan should consider a merger in order to compete with the big guns in Europe once again. “They were the richest clubs in the world at one stage, but are now struggling to do anything with their rich owners… if both teams were to merge, you would have one club with a turnover of 320 million euros rather than two clubs with a turnover of 160 million euros.”
Suggesting bitter rivals rich with history such as AC Milan and Inter Milan is akin to proposing a Cubs-White Sox or Yankees-Red Sox merger. Though the potential profit yield of combing two incredibly established clubs is enormous, there is simply too much baggage to warrant this suggestion actually feasible.
Other than sharing a home at the San Siro stadium, there is little that connects AC and Inter Milan. Despite once sharing a unified team in 1908, the Milan Cricket and Football Club, the two clubs decided to part ways upon a dispute over signing foreign players shortly after its inception. Both clubs have enjoyed enormous success in their 100 year histories on an Italian and European scale, but both clubs have recently found it difficult to reattain the success that they had become so accustoming to receiving.
Though I assume that Raiola’s suggestion was merely an attempt at gaining publicity, I think that a unified club (FC Milan potentially?) could bring massive benefits to Serie A. Having a “super” team would immediately re-establish an Italian club at the forefront of European soccer. Overseas popularity for soccer is largely contingent on having a team comprised of superstars. Both AC and Inter Milan popularity have waned in recent years due to a lack of excitement and competitiveness surrounding the two teams. Maybe a merger would reignite a passion for Italian football that I unfortunately feel has been absent in recent years.
What does everybody think? Would it ever be possible to merge two sport clubs with such a bitter rivalry such as AC and Inter Milan?
