Silvio Berlusconi oversaw periods of domination and a sharp downturn in performances across his 31-year ownership of AC Milan between 1986 and 2017, and the Italian politician attempted everything within his power to convince prospective signings to join the club.
This persistence became most evident in Milan's pursuit of Torino winger Gianluigi Lentini in 1992. Coming off the back of a stellar season for Torino in which they managed to reach the UEFA Cup final and finish third in Serie A, Lentini captured the attention of Scudetto winners Milan with his blistering pace and incredible work rate.
Milan and Torino agreed a fee for Lentini's transfer at the end of the season, but there was just one problem; Lentini didn't want to leave.
Berlusconi attempts to persuade Lentini after he rejects AC Milan
"I genuinely didn’t want to leave Torino, the club I grew up at," Lentini exclusively tells FourFourTwo. "At the beginning of 1992, journalists and other people kept telling me that I’d soon wear the Rossoneri jersey, despite the fact that no one from Torino or Milan had ever spoken to me about it. I kept saying that I’d stay, and that was the truth! I didn’t want to go anywhere, I was living a happy life. I’ve never been someone who says something and does the opposite. At Torino, we lost the 1992 UEFA Cup Final to Ajax, on away goals after drawing both legs.
"It was only then that someone from Milan finally called me and asked if I wanted to join them. I immediately said no, and that I wanted to stay in Turin. For me, that was the end of it. I’d already said that to the press, too. But Milan were very persistent. I was 23 years old, I would get way more money than I received from Torino, and my agents and friends kept saying that I’d be a fool to turn down the offer."
Despite being bullish at wanting to remain with Torino, Lentini couldn't shake off the advances from the Rossoneri. Either Lentini wasn't saying "no, grazie" clearly enough, or Milan just didn't want to hear it. That's when the late Silvio Berluscconi stepped in, in an attempt to convince the winger to move the 80-odd miles east.
"Silvio Berlusconi was so insistent that he sent his helicopter twice to impress me," Lentini continues. "It took longer to drive to the airport, a good few kilometres outside of Turin, then wait there and fly 30 to 40 minutes to Arcore, near Milan, than to just drive directly to Berlusconi’s villa. But he loved doing those things to surprise you, and he wouldn’t stop repeating that Milan was the most successful club in the world.
"He was a convincing guy, but I didn’t need to be convinced. I was happy where I was, I had my close friends and a club I was an important member of. What more could he offer me? Just money, which is something I never really cared about. I went to Torino’s president Gian Mauro Borsano and asked for a little more money – I told him I wanted to stay, but I’d received a massive offer. I didn’t want Torino to give me all of the money that I was being offered by Milan, but a bit more to justify my refusal. I didn’t want people to think I was a complete fool!
"He said he would do it, that I needed to be patient and that he’d extend my contract. In the end, I found out that he’d already sold me in March! He’d signed a pre-agreement, valid until June 30 – if I didn’t sign for Milan before that deadline, it would expire. He kept saying I needed to be patient, so I unwillingly decided to sign for Milan."
Lentini moves for world record transfer fee
In signing for Milan, Lentini moved for a world-record £13m - a record that stood for four years until Alan Shearer swapped Blackburn for Newcastle. The crucial difference was, though, that Shearer was desperate to sign for his boyhood club, while Lentini was desperate to remain at his.
"I was so unhappy that, once we reached Milan, I told my agents to turn the car around and drive me back home," he says. "I’d changed my mind. They phoned my father to calm me down and told him I was going nuts! In the end, Milan convinced me and I signed my contract shortly before the June 30 deadline came around. The Rossoneri paid a lot of money for me, a world-record fee. They gave me loads of money, too
"Horrendous figures were published in the newspapers – all of a sudden I became ‘Mr 65 Billion’ [65bn lire was around £30m, for the combination of his transfer fee and contract]. Working-class people, the general public – all my people – were outraged. Fans attacked Torino headquarters and protested in the streets.
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"It didn’t look good for me, either. I’d said I’d stay and then done the opposite, even though it hadn’t been my true desire. I’d just wanted to stay in Turin, where I could play football without all of these issues."
Despite Lentini's protestations over the move, he did end the 1992/93 campaign as a Scudetto winner, with the winger scoring seven and assisting five in 30 games. Milan also progressed to the Champions League final with Lentini starting the game on the right-wing, though they lost 1-0 to Marseille in Munich. Still, Lentini retains fond memories of his first season at the club.
"I was the world’s most talked about player at that moment," Lentini adds. "My first season at Milan was good and we immediately won the Serie A title. That was probably the happiest period for me – it was my first Scudetto and I was an important member of the squad, a regular starter, both in the league and in Europe."
