Cardinale Backs Amorim: Milan Owner Vows January Signings and Full Faith in Boss

FolioPitch.com – 31 October 2026 | AC Milan owner Gerry Cardinale has delivered a resounding vote of confidence in head coach Ruben Amorim, declaring that Cardinale I ll stand by Amorim s side and buy more players in January, in an exclusive interview with Gazzetta dello Sport ahead of Saturday’s Derby della Madonnina against Inter. The American businessman, who took direct control of the club last summer after a sweeping restructuring, insisted that the Portuguese coach is in no danger whatsoever and that the Rossoneri will be aggressive in the winter transfer market to strengthen a squad still under construction.

Cardinale’s commitment comes at a pivotal moment. Milan sit fifth in Serie A, seven points adrift of city rivals Inter, and suffered their first league defeat of the season on Wednesday. Yet the owner remains bullish about the project he launched with Amorim just months ago, framing the current campaign as a work in progress rather than a crisis. “I’m never happy,” Cardinale said. “I’m happy when we win a match, but that means nothing. Ask me if I’m happy when I lift a trophy, or when we win a Scudetto. Then I’ll tell you I’m truly happy. Right now, we still have a lot of work to do, and lately injuries have made me agitated.”

The owner’s frustration with the club’s injury situation has directly shaped his January plans. With Amorim’s high-tempo, quick-transition style demanding players cover between nine and eleven kilometres per match, Cardinale believes squad depth is non-negotiable. “We’re only a quarter of the way there, and the priority is building a team that can handle injuries,” he explained. “That’s why in January we’ll continue to be aggressive and opportunistic in the market, and I’ll continue to strengthen our bench. My style is to act decisively and quickly. For me, what matters is getting what we want: players worthy of Milan. I won’t waste money, but when I set my mind on signing a footballer, I do everything I can to make it happen.”

That pledge underlines the message that Cardinale I ll stand by Amorim s side and buy more players in January, a dual commitment the owner repeated throughout the conversation. He acknowledged that he could not complete all his desired business in the summer and estimated that another couple of transfer windows will be needed to finish rebuilding the squad. The arrival of new faces in January, he suggested, will be tailored to Amorim’s demanding system rather than mere opportunistic signings.

On the coaching front, Cardinale was unequivocal. “Yes, and I have full faith in him,” he said when asked whether his trust in Amorim remained intact after three defeats across all competitions. “At the end of Top Gun, ‘my’ movie, Tom Cruise says a great line: ‘I’m not leaving my wingman.’ And I’m not leaving Ruben. He is in no danger whatsoever. I will stand by his side and I won’t make the mistakes made in recent years. He is my manager, and we’ll keep working together until we manage to make the step up. You can’t win if you keep switching managers.”

The Milan owner revealed that he hired Amorim partly because the former Sporting and Manchester United coach candidly explained the errors he made in England. “He learned a lot from what happened at Manchester United, and I hired him because he explained the mistakes made there to me,” Cardinale said. “He has the right culture; he’s a leader, a manager and a well-prepared coach. At Milanello, the atmosphere is different from the last four years. That is down to him. He’s learning, and the team needs to find cohesion, understand how to rotate players, and keep scoring plenty of goals and winning. For me, a draw is a defeat. A point isn’t the aim of the game: three points are. Only with wins can we bridge the gap with the leaders.”

Beyond the pitch, Cardinale confirmed that talks are ongoing with Markus Krosche and other candidates for the newly created Head of Football role, though he stressed there is no rush to make an announcement. Krosche, currently under contract with Eintracht Frankfurt until 2028, was officially relieved of his duties earlier this month. “Choosing the head of football is one of the most important things following this summer’s transition, when I sacked everyone and took over running the club,” Cardinale said. “I’m talking with Krosche and with other people, the best in football. With a season ending in May and a transfer window starting in June, I don’t want to rush. Right now I’m running the club directly, and I enjoy it, but I can’t do it forever because I also have another job.”

The timing of Cardinale’s remarks is significant, coming just days before Milan face Inter in the season’s most anticipated derby. Despite the seven-point gap, the owner believes a Scudetto challenge is entirely possible this season. “It is entirely possible, one hundred per cent. And I say that without wanting to sound arrogant,” he insisted. “I wake up every morning hoping for a small opening, meaning Inter start drawing instead of winning, and we start stringing together a run of wins. Winning is the only thing that matters to me, but let’s take it one match at a time, gaining ground on those ahead of us, matchday by matchday.”

Cardinale also praised Inter’s organisational resilience, comparing their seamless transition from Simone Inzaghi to Liverpool’s post-Jurgen Klopp success under Arne Slot. “I respect Marotta and his club’s organisation, which, even when Inzaghi left, didn’t miss a beat,” he said. “That’s what I aspire to for us. Do I feel the rivalry with them? Absolutely! Do they keep me up at night? Completely. Competition is good, and I’m confident we can reach that level. It’s only a matter of time before we become better, before we lift that trophy.”

Off the field, Cardinale attended the unveiling of the new Generali Stadium design, a joint project between Milan and Inter that he described as a four-year priority and a key milestone for Italian football. “There is no stadium in the world that, to me, is worth as much as a derby win against Inter,” he concluded. With the January window looming and Amorim firmly in his corner, the message from the top is clear: Cardinale I ll stand by Amorim s side and buy more players in January, betting on stability and smart investment to close the gap on the Nerazzurri and restore Milan to the summit of Serie A.