AC Milan is closing in on the Serie A title in a season before which no one expected them among the top favorites for the Scudetto. The Rossoneri have had minor setbacks like Spezia, Salernitana or Udinese but are generally playing the season above expectations.In the derby matches (Inter, Juventus, Napoli, Roma and Lazio), they won 18 out of a possible 27 points and have only one defeat against direct rivals (Napoli at home). They have the second most efficient attack in the league and the fourth-best defense. They are currently first on the table with three points more than Napoli and six more than Inter (Nerazzurri have one game less).The schedule in the remaining eight rounds is not that friendly. At home, they have the ‘easy-ones’ against Bologna and Genoa, and they also welcome the tricky Atalanta and Fiorentina. Each of the four remaining away matches can be a ‘landmine’: Torino, Lazio, Verona, Sassuolo.Giroud’s golden touch and Bennacer’s wondergoal give Milan the points on a rainy night in CagliariBut again, Rossoneri’s destiny is in their own hands. It will not be easy for their rivals either. Napoli have a tougher schedule because they play against Atalanta, Fiorentina, Roma, Torino, Sassuolo until the end of the campaign. Inter have a slightly easier schedule but also the most difficult away game – Juventus. Roma are also coming to Giuseppe Meazza. And they have to win that rearranged match.It could be said that AC Milan are in a situation just a tad better than their rivals.And all that with the ‘cheapest’ team. Today, Gazzetta dello Sport dealt with the budgets of the Scudetto candidates, but also with the top teams in the other five leagues. AC Milan annually allocate “only” 110 million USD for gross salaries of their players. The highest-paid player is Zlatan Ibrahimovic with a net salary of 7.7 million USD a year. For example, even Napoli has a bigger budget – 120 million USD. Inter have a much bigger amount to work with (143 million USD) while Juventus are above AC Milan by quite a margin (189.5 million). That is why many did not expect the Rossoneri in the fight for the Scudetto. Especially since last summer they even cut the budget by 16.5 million USD, which were pretty much the salaries of Donnarumma and Calhanoglu.Thu 22:45: (1.25) Italy (6.25) North Macedonia (15.0)In comparison to other top five leagues, it is clear AC Milan do not have the ‘muscles’ for European football and why it could not be more in the group stage of the Champions League for them. However, in the most difficult group, the Rossoneri even left a good impression and maybe they could have had a little more luck.For example, the leaders of the Spanish championship Real Madrid annually allocate 440 million USD for the gross salaries of their first-team players. Gareth Bale and Eden Hazard, who hardly play at all, cost around 55 million USD gross – half of AC Milan’s budget. Manchester City spend 284 million USD a year on salaries, Bayern 211.5 million USD. The one’s squashing all others in that segment are of course Paris Saint-Germain – the French giants spend an incredible 517 million USD! As for others, Barcelona’s budget is close to half a billion USD, and Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United work with between 205 million and 225 million USD.AC Milan’s budget shouldn’t see any big raises next season either. The raises have already been given to Saelemaekers, Calabria and Hernandez, and new contracts with higher salaries will soon be signed by Leao and Bennacer. However, all the contracts are within tolerable limits, which do not amount to over 4.5 million USD net, which is marked by the American owners as a realistic limit. For example, Rabiot has 8.8 million USD and bonuses at Juventus.Osimhen can turn a good team into a Scudetto-winning team! Nigerian strikes a double in Napoli comebackIbrahimovic will probably agree to a new one-year contract with a lower salary, but AC Milan will get rid of Romagnoli, whose contract expires and who has the highest gross salary in the team – 11.2 million USD. Kessie, Bakayoko and Castillejo are also leaving, altogether costing over 11 million USD. That is a saving of over 22 million USD, which will be evenly distributed on new contracts and raises to the team’s most important players.AC Milan have massively reduced its debts since the American fund Elliott took over the club, and the return to the Champions League has strengthened their finances. New sponsors are coming, revenues are growing and in the next transfer window, the club will be in a situation where they do not have to sell and at the same time spend close to 110 million USD on signings like Botman, Sanchez and David from Lille, Ekitike from Reims, Scammaca and Berardi from Sassuolo, Bergwijn from Tottenham or Lang from Club Brugge.It seems that winning the Scudetto would be a bonus – which the club did not expect so early in their rehabilitation process.
