Keswick denies Gazidis is joining Milan
Sir Chips Keswick, Arsenal’s chairman, has insisted Ivan Gazidis, the club’s chief executive, is “fully committed” to his role despite interest from AC Milan.
Gazidis has been targeted by Elliott Management, the American hedge fund which took control of Milan this summer.
Keswick did not deny the multiple reports that Milan are attempting to attract Gazidis to Italy, instead saying: “We know he receives many offers from organisations inside and outside the game as he is a hugely respected figure.
“He has never accepted any of these opportunities and has never spoken about them publicly. He has always been fully committed to taking Arsenal forward and is working hard in Singapore with our new head coach, Unai Emery.”
Gazidis, 53, joined Arsenal in 2008 and has been instrumental in the recent restructure of the club, as Arsene Wenger was replaced as manager earlier this summer after 22 years. Gazidis was central to the hiring of Emery, and also oversaw the recent appointments of head of recruitment Sven Mislintat, head of football relations Raul Sanllehi and director of high performance Darren Burgess.
“I speak every day with him,” said Emery of Gazidis. “He has been committed here for many, many years. I think he continues here because it is a big project and his commitment to Arsenal is very strong. We are speaking about every decision for our club.”
Elliott is controlled by the US billionaire Paul Singer. The hedge fund is considered to be one of the most influential activist investors and has developed a reputation for fierce pursuit of short-term profits.
Milan last week had their oneyear ban from European football overturned on appeal. Uefa had initially banned the club for breaching Financial Fair Play rules.