Since Elliott Management took control of Milan, they have worked tirelessly with Inter to make a new stadium happen in Milano for the two teams. While Milan's spending and balance sheets are frightening and we may have FFP troubles on the horizon, Elliott have ensured that the club are nearly debt free. However, rumors surrounding Inter being sold by Suning have been swirling for a while, and they have actually been entertaining offers for investors in the club. Worse still, their financial situation may actually be the worst in Serie A. So despite Elliott's best efforts for Milan, Inter's financial instability and potential sale is now the biggest barrier to the project. Clearly, when Inter are involved, a new stadium is not for everyone.
 |
| With Inter, dreams never do come true |
Inter have made their name synonymous with failure both on and off the pitch. Moratti invested over €1.5 billion personally in the club during his ownership, which was obviously before UEFA's FFP policies. After Thohir's ultimate failure, though UEFA granted Suning a settlement agreement, and despite not making their goals, they were released from that agreement. Why, I'll never understand. Suning had done so much in their four years of ownership to generate enough revenue to attempt to cover their exorbitant spending policies, but coming up short on the pitch year after year has clearly cost them dearly. According to recent financial reports, Inter have the highest gross debt in Italy, at a whopping €411m. I guess when you spend hundreds of millions on mercenary players every year, and are paying €16.5 million in coaching salaries, these things catch up to you. Who knew?
 |
| Turns out snakes may actually undermine the vulture fund |
Suning had an offer on the table from English company BC Partners, but negotiations halted after the due diligence process. As the club's dire financial situation becomes more apparent with every passing day, they are desperate to find investors. This unfortunately has brought our joint stadium venture to a screeching halt. The next round of approval from the city is likely to be deferred to the incoming city leadership, an election that doesn't actually happen until the end of May. But the current leaders do not want to make a decision without knowing the ownership and financials of both clubs.
In the press, Milan management are repeatedly said to be "optimistic" about a €1.2 billion stadium plan they were initially convinced would be completed by 2023. Then it was 2025. Now this project may not ever happen. Maybe Elliott are working on a takeover from Suning that has yet to be disclosed, I don't know. They must know something that we don't, because we all know how near impossible it is to get a stadium built in Italy in the first place. Let alone when your partner in that venture is the club that brought the world Calciopoli. With the city losing faith in the project because of the ownership situation at Inter, the massive debt situation does not bode well for Inter being able to provide their half of the costs of building the stadium, either.
 |
| The writing was literally on the wall |
Neither ownership is in this for the long run. For once, I can understand why Milano's officials are hesitant to back a project where the stakeholders do not plan to be around once the project is complete, or perhaps are planning on bowing out during the process. It is not a surprise that Inter are the reason the project is not moving ahead as scheduled. Their long history of poor character and overspending, as well as their inability to succeed on the pitch without criminal intervention makes for an extremely poor business partnership. Unfortunately for Milan, though, that means that Inter's past social media campaign is a self-fulfilling prophecy: a new stadium is #NotForEveryone.
This post inspired by I Don't Know How But They Found Me's "From the Gallows"
Reviewed by Elaine
on
7:48 AM
Rating:
