AC Milan and Monza mourn the death of 'the unforgettable' Berlusconi

AC Milan, led for more than 30 years by Silvio Berlusconi, on Monday saluted the memory of its “unforgettable” former boss, also “mourned” by AC Monza, the club he had owned since 2018, and all football Italian. “AC Milan, deeply saddened, mourns the disappearance of the unforgettable Silvio Berlusconi”, underlined the rossonero club, one of the most powerful in the world when the former Italian head of government was the owner (1986- 2017), in a post on its website.

"Thank you president, forever with us", added the club which, under the reign of the "Cavaliere", won 29 trophies, including five Champions Leagues and eight Italian champion titles, and attracted some of the biggest stars. of the planet (Maldini, Van Basten, Gullit, Papin, Weah, Shevchenko, Ronaldinho, Ibrahimovic). AC Monza, which he took over in 2018, a year after selling Milan, and Adriano Galiani, longtime right-hand man of Silvio Berlusconi, also paid tribute to the memory of the former head of the Italian government, who died on Monday morning at 86.

“It is a void that can never be filled, forever with us. Thank you for everything, president”, underlined the Lombard club, whose management was entrusted to Galliani by Berlusconi, as he had done in Milan. The club, whose stadium is ten minutes from Berlusconi's villa in Arcore, has climbed the ladder to move from the 3rd division to Serie A, joined last summer.

Carlo Ancelotti, who was a player (1987-1992) then coach (2001-2009) of AC Milan during the reign of Berlusconi, expressed his "infinite gratitude to the president". He was "decisive in (his) adventure as a footballer first, then as a coach", assured on Twitter the technician of Real Madrid, who won four Champions League with Milan (two as a player, two as a coach). Another emblematic former coach of this "great Milan", Arrigo Sacchi, hailed the memory of a "fabulous friend, to whom I owe everything", quoted by the Italian agency Ansa.

Several other clubs and personalities paid tribute to the former AC Milan boss, including Italian champion Napoli, who expressed the “condolences” of its president Aurelio De Laurentiis and the whole club. "Silvio Berlusconi changed the history of Italian football," Italian Football Federation president Gabriele Gravina said in a statement. “His contribution in terms of passion, innovation and investment, always with particular attention to the beautiful game, has been fundamental for the affirmation of our football at international level,” he added.

"He made the history of this fate (...) by taking Italian football to the roof of Europe and the world," said Lorenzo Casini, president of the Serie A League.