Following the mass departure of Massimiliano Allegri and the club's entire senior leadership — chief executive Giorgio Furlani, sporting director Igli Tare and technical director Geoffrey Moncada were all dismissed alongside the head coach after Sunday's Champions League qualification failure — RedBird Capital have handed Ibrahimovic greater authority over the football operation than he has previously held.
According to Italian sources, it is Ibrahimovic who will determine who occupies the head coach and sporting director roles next season. The man emerging as his preferred managerial candidate is Antonio Conte, who confirmed his resignation from Napoli on Sunday after two seasons — the first of which delivered the Serie A title, the second a second-place finish.
Corriere dello Sport reports that AC Milan have identified Conte as the ideal figure to revive the club after a collapse that saw them lose seven of their final 13 league games. Reports from other Italian sources point to Andoni Iraola, who left Bournemouth this summer, as a competing candidate. No appointment is expected imminently while the leadership structure is still being reassembled.
On the pitch, significant changes are anticipated.
Rafael Leão, whose 31-league-game season produced 10 goals and three assists — figures considered well below his level at a club of Milan's ambitions — is attracting serious interest from Turkey. Both Galatasaray and Fenerbahçe are tracking the Portugal international, with Gazzetta dello Sport reporting that the Istanbul clubs are prepared to compete for his signature in what would amount to a derby off the pitch.
Fenerbahçe, who will elect a new president in early July, could offer Leão personal terms of around €10 million per year. The fee Milan would receive is estimated at between €40 million and €50 million.
Ibrahimovic is reported to want Leão to stay. Whether that preference carries more weight than the financial reality of a club facing Europa League football and significant structural upheaval remains to be seen.
The rebuild at San Siro starts now.