Monza chief Adriano Galliani insists his first love remains AC Milan.
Both Galliani and former Milan president Silvio Berlusconi are now in charge of Monza.
I have respect for the Elliott group, even if they never bought Milan," he told Radio Anch'io Sport.
We sold them to Yonghong Li, who borrowed the money to pay the fee he owed from Elliott, which in turn had Milan as collateral.
If Elliott hadn't lent that money, we would've kept the deposit and entered Milan in both Serie A and the Europa League for the 2017-18 season.
I talk about Monza and Milan with President Berlusconi every Monday. He's always been a fan and when the Rossoneri lose he's sad.
Our love for Milan remains intact. For financial reasons, we had to sell the club, reluctantly and regretfully.
I hope (Stefano) Pioli is the right man, I respect him a lot as I did Giampaolo. I trust this board and we hope they can bring Milan back into the Champions League."
