From Milan, Monza and the Mafia to the Pope, pizza and prostitutes: Silvio Berlusconi's most famous football quotes

"Milan? It's an affair of the heart. It's expensive, but the most beautiful women also cost a lot."

- Upon saving the club from bankruptcy in February 1986, Silvio tells us everything we needed to know about his approach to football and the fairer sex.

"Not signing him was a very deep regret, and not just because Maradona was the greatest player of his generation. He was a fragile person, perhaps the discipline and attention to individuals that existed in my Milan would have helped him avoid some mistakes. But, from talking to him, I realised one thing: Maradona was Naples, he was the symbol of the greatest Napoli team in history. And icons like him cannot be bought and cannot be moved. It would have been like taking the heart of an entire city and transferring it to Milan. It would have been unfair; it couldn't be done. Diego himself, who had great sensitivity, shared this assessment."

- Berlusconi reveals his mixed emotions on missing out on signing Diego Maradona in an interview with the Gazzetta dello Sport.

"We hope to have put together a team capable of putting on a show because we have certain responsibilities towards our fans and the rest of the world, where we are the most famous thing about Italy - after the mafia and pizza."

- Berlusconi argues in 1995 that the Rossoneri have become so famous that they are now synonymous with 'Il Bel Paese'.

"Your Holiness, let me say that you are a bit like my Milan: we both often go away from home to bring a winning idea to the world."

- Berlusconi informs the Pope that he sees similiarities between his club and the head of the Catholic Church.

"For love of my country, I wanted to keep quiet, but I have to say that we could and should have won. From (Dino) Zoff came instead some unworthy choices. (Zinedine) Zidane was always free to create chances. Even an amateur would have seen that and we would have won. On the other hand, intelligence and wit, either you have them or you don't..."

- Berlusconi was less than impressed with the manner of Italy's loss to France in the final of Euro 2000.

"Let's talk about football and women! Gerhard, why don't you start?"

- At an EU summit in Brussels in 2003, Berlusconi addresses his audience before turning to then German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, who had been married four times...

"They speak of the Milan of Sacchi, Zaccheroni and Ancelotti and never talk of the Milan of Berlusconi. Yet it is I who for 18 years has been picking the team, stating the rules and buying the players... It seems as if I do not exist!"

- In 2004, a clearly hurt Berlusconi wonders why it is only he who gives himself all of the credit for Milan's success.

"I'll send a letter: from Monday any Milan coach will be obliged to play with at least two strikers. It's not a request, it's an obligation."

- Fair to say that Berlusconi grew frustrated by Carlo Ancelotti occasionally playing one up front at San Siro.

"Shevchenko's departure? It was neither wanted by us nor caused by the will of the player: he had to to submit to the wishes of his wife. And we know that wives are often like capos to whom we cannot say no!"

- Berlusconi claims that Andriy Shevchenko's better half forced through the Ukrainian striker's move to Chelsea in 2006.

"Twenty-one years ago, when we took Milan on the verge of bankruptcy, we set ourselves a goal: to take the team to the top in Italy, in Europe and in the world. Well, we did it!"

- Berlusconi was understandably ecstatic after watching the Rossoneri claim the fifth European Cup of his tenure, by beating Liverpool 2-1 in 2007 Champions League final in Athens.

"Kaka is the son that all mothers want and the husband that all wives would like."

- They may have been very different characters but even Berlusconi could understand the Brazilian's appeal.

"I'm worried about Ronaldo, we need to send him to Lourdes."

- Berlusconi belatedly realizes in 2007 that the injury-prone Ronaldo might need a miracle to regain full fitness.

"I make four promises to the fans: the first is Silvio will never give up, the second is Silvio will send (Italian prime minister Romano) Prodi home, the third is Silvio will save us from the communists and the fourth is Silvio will buy us Ronaldinho."

- While on the campaign trail in 2007, Berlusconi vowed to bring another Brazilian to San Siro. And he proved a man of his word in this instance, signing Ronaldinho in the summer of 2008.

"Ancelotti is chubby enough already. He has eaten so many panettones [traditional Italian bread eaten at Christmas]. In any case, he can still have it this year."

- Milan lost 2-1 to Bologna in the first game of the 2008-09 season and Berlusconi swatted away suggestions that he would soon be in the firing line. Ultimately, Ancelotti lasted until the end of the campaign and then resigned.

"Balotelli? If you put a rotten apple in the dressing room, it can infect all of the others."

- Berlusconi rules out signing Mario Balotelli during the 2013 January transfer window - before signing the Italian striker during the 2013 January transfer window.

"Allegri doesn't understand sh*t!"

- Ahead of the second leg of Milan's Champions League last-16 clash with Barcelona in March 2013, Berlusconi gives a brutal assessment of his head coach. Funnily enough, Allegri had actually overseen a stirring 2-0 win over the Catalans at San Siro. But they were hammered 4-0 in the return fixture.

"I would make the sacrifice to sell Milan only to someone who would benefit the club more than me. Up to now, no one has come forward who fits the bill."

- In 2009, Berlusconi ruled out an imminent regime change at San Siro.

"I met many people there. They could control the Milan dressing room pretty well."

- Berlusconi responds to his first day of community service in 2014 at an old people's home by remarking that the elderly could do a better job than then AC Milan coach Clarence Seedorf.

"The history of my Milan has been one of great champions, who made every fan dream, myself included. I always established established a personal relationship of esteem and affection with my boys. But if I really have to name [my favourite], I choose Marco Van Basten, a symbol of the beauty of football as I understand it. A legendary protagonist who left an unfillable void when he had to leave the field too soon."

- In a 2020 interview with Corriere dello Sport, Berlusconi paid tribute to the legendary Dutch striker who played his final competitive game at the age of 27.

"Today, after more than 30 years, I am leaving the title and office of president of AC Milan. I do it with pain and emotion, but with the knowledge that to compete at the highest level in modern football requires investments and resources that a single family is no longer able to sustain... Thanks again to everyone."

- Berlusconi bids an emotional and mournful farewell to Milan.

"Things have changed: when we arrived, there were 300 people watching Monza, now there's 10,000."

- Berlusconi was beaming with pride after leading the Biancorossi into Serie A for the first time in their history, in 2022.

"I decided to add extra stimulation, so I told the lads, 'You will play Milan, Juventus, etc... so if you beat one of these big teams, I will have you greeted in the locker room by a bus full of whores!'"

- Berlusconi showed he'd not lost his capacity for causing controversy by trying to motivate Monza's players in characteristically crude fashion.

"That day (May 1, 1988), overcoming that very strong Napoli, my Milan effectively won its first Scudetto. The first trophy of an unequaled epic - conducted with an extraordinary manager and a true friend like Adriano Galliani - an epic that made Milan the team with the most titles in the world and which still makes me the president of the club that has won the most titles in the history of world football. According to FIFA, Arrigo Sacchi's Milan played the most beautiful football in history. It's actually difficult to say, but certainly the thrill of seeing that team play was incomparable. I'm happy that my father, who had led me by the hand, since I was a child, to rejoice and suffer for Milan, was still alive to see it."

- In a recent interview with the Gazzetta dello Sport, Berlusconi got all emotional thinking about Milan's Serie A title triumph, which was effectively sealed with a 3-2 win in Naples. Whatever one thought about him as a man, there is no getting away from the fact that he will be remembered as one of the most influential figures in football history.