Milan and Italian football mourn the death of Berlusconi – 06/12/2023 – Sport

Milan, led by Silvio Berlusconi for more than 30 years, said in a statement that they were “deeply saddened” by the death of their “unforgettable” former president. The top hat and Italian politician died this Monday (12), aged 86.

Monza, the club Berlusconi has owned since 2018, and Italian football as a whole also expressed their regret.

The Rossoneri club experienced one of its most glorious moments when the former Italian Prime Minister was its president.

“Thank you president, always with us”, added the club that, under the command of the ‘Cavaliere’, won 29 titles, including five Champions League and eight Italian Championship titles. During his tenure, Milan attracted some of the biggest stars in world football, such as Maldini, Van Basten, Gullit, Papin, Weah, Shevchenko, Ronaldinho and Ibrahimovic.

AC Monza, the football club that Berlusconi took over in partnership with Adriano Galliani, his right-hand man, also paid homage.

“This is a void that can never be filled, forever with us. Thank you for everything, president”, said the Lombard club.

The team, whose stadium is 10 minutes from Berlusconi’s town of Arcore, climbed the steps to move from the third division to Serie A last summer.

“Infinite Gratitude”

Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti this Monday expressed his “infinite gratitude” to Silvio Berlusconi, who was “fundamental” in his career as a player and coach.

“Today’s sadness does not erase the happy moments we spent together”, wrote the former player (1987-1992) and coach (2001-2009) of the Rossoneri club on his Twitter account.

“I am infinitely grateful to the president, but above all to an ironic, loyal, intelligent, sincere man, fundamental in my adventure first as a football player and then as a coach”, he added, concluding with a “thank you, president”.

Another iconic former Milan coach, Arrigo Sacchi, paid homage to the memory of a “fabulous friend, to whom I owe everything”, according to the Italian news agency Ansa.

Other clubs and Italian football personalities paid tribute to Berlusconi, with new Italian champions Napoli expressing “condolences” to their president Aurelio de Laurentiis.

“Silvio Berlusconi changed the history of Italian football,” Italian Football Federation president Gabriele Gravina said in a statement.

“He made history in this sport (…) taking Italian football to the top of Europe and the world,” said Lorenzo Casini, president of Serie A.