The AC Milan owner is expected at a sports roundtable with President Trump before attending Inter–Milan at San Siro
It’s shaping up to be a hectic 48 hours for Gerry Cardinale.
The owner of AC Milan is expected to attend a high-level roundtable on college sports at the White House hosted by Donald Trump. Shortly after the event, Cardinale is scheduled to fly to Italy to be present for one of the biggest matches of the Serie A season — the Milan derby against Inter Milan.
According to reports in the U.S., Cardinale is among the invited guests for the meeting focused on the future of American collegiate athletics.
A Quick Trip to Support Milan
After the Washington event, Cardinale is expected to travel directly to Milan, where he plans to spend time with the team at the club’s training facility before the derby.
The RedBird Capital founder will visit Milanello on the eve of the match to meet players and staff — something he has done several times in recent months.
He will then be present at San Siro on Sunday night for the high-stakes clash between the city’s two giants.
The visit continues a pattern that has become increasingly clear in recent months: Cardinale has made a point of being physically closer to the club compared with earlier periods of his ownership.
Increasing Presence Around the Club
Cardinale has already made multiple trips to Milan in 2026.
On January 21 he visited Milanello, meeting with the squad and holding long discussions with club executives including CEO Giorgio Furlani. During the visit he also spoke with Zlatan Ibrahimović and sporting director Igli Tare before sharing lunch with head coach Massimiliano Allegri.
That visit came at a delicate moment for the club following financial restructuring at the end of January, and Cardinale’s message was clear: RedBird intended to finish the season with the current management structure.
Less than a month later, on February 15, he returned to Milanello again before attending meetings with other club owners at the Serie A league headquarters.
Sunday’s derby will mark the sixth time he has watched the match live at San Siro. His most memorable experience remains the 3–2 Milan victory on September 3, 2022 — a match played during the Rossoneri’s title-winning season.
Major Projects on the Horizon
Even while traveling, Cardinale continues to oversee several key strategic projects involving Milan’s future.
The most important is the long-discussed new stadium project that Milan and Inter hope to finalize before the summer. The proposed stadium plan, currently being developed by architectural firms Manica and Foster + Partners, is seen as crucial to Milan’s long-term financial growth.
Another initiative Cardinale is closely following is the potential creation of an NBA-backed European basketball league. RedBird is exploring the possibility of entering a franchise under the Milan brand if the project moves forward.
A Massive Business Deal in the Background
Cardinale’s busy schedule comes amid a major development in the U.S. media industry.
Paramount — a company in which RedBird holds a stake — recently reached a massive agreement valued at roughly $110 billion for the acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery. The deal, expected to close in the second half of 2026, became one of the most significant financial stories in American media after a competitive bidding battle that reportedly involved companies such as Netflix.
With business negotiations in Washington and a derby waiting in Milan, Cardinale’s week bridges two very different worlds.
For Milan fans, however, the focus is simple: a victory over Inter would be the perfect way for the club’s owner to end an already dramatic few days.
