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GLORY TO BANKRUPTCY

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A decade-long drought came to an end when Antonio Conte’s Inter Milan lifted their first Scudetto since 2010, dethroning Juventus. 12 points clear off the top, a goalscoring feast, and some smart managerial tactics helped Inter lift the Serie A. Though the Champions of Italy have another hurdle in front of them.

 

 

According to multiple reports coming out of Italy, the kings of the Italian land could soon be filing for bankruptcy. One of the oldest clubs in Italy, don’t have enough funds to survive for long and the club’s President Steven Zhang has to sooner or later find an escape route.

 

 

Inter and Argentine legend, Javier Zanetti who is the Vice-President of his former club stated a few days ago that Inter does face some serious financial challenges despite capturing the Serie A title.

 

WHY DID THIS HAPPEN?

The party began in Milan when Nerazzurri finally got to lift the prestigious Serie A trophy. Conte’s army had finally replicated Mourinho’s 2010 heroics and another golden chapter was added to their history books.

 

 

But the thick sheet of happiness couldn’t cover the money problems the club were dealing with. The coronavirus pandemic was exceptionally damaging for the footballing world. With the world locked up in their homes, the game of football came to a standstill. Inter’s situation was no different as the Italian Champions were surviving with empty pockets.

La Beneamata is controlled by a Chinese business group called Sunning. The Italian giants were purchased by Sunning five years ago but now they are looking to get rid of them.

 

 

With the Covid-19 pandemic being nothing short of lightning on a rainy day, the losses are heavier than the profits the club is earning.

Even after the restart of the Italian league fans were not allowed to enter the stadiums because of covid protocols. Inter’s pockets faced big blows throughout the season with the Italians losing out on almost 56 million dollars. The financial situation worsened when three huge sponsorship deals expired at the end of the season and Inter lost more funds.

An opportunity came knocking on Inter’s door when a few rogue clubs announced the arrival of the European Super League. But with the world turning its back on the breakout league, the situation worsened at the Italian club.

Inter have not paid a large amount of wages to their staff for a few months now and have taken a loan in the range of 275 million Euros from Oaktree capital to stay afloat. This could be a precursor to selling the club. It will leave the club under considerable debt to its owners, something Manchester United have faced with the Glazers.

 

 

Zanetti’s ‘delicate moment’ is no longer a delicate situation for Sunning. With the Chinese company selling off its shares all across China, president Steven Zhang has come under the scanner.

It’s almost inevitable that Sunning will stop holding Inter Milan’s hands and will leave the club hanging by a thin piece of thread.

According to Forbes, Sunning wanted to pass the baton to a British company called BC Partners. Unfortunately, the Italian club’s worth is not more than 900 million pounds according to the British organisation. Whereas Sunning’s valuation is upwards of the 1 billion mark.

The Chinese company are roaming in the market, looking for new investors and if Inter doesn’t find an investor soon enough, the Champions of Italy could be on the verge of falling apart in the worst possible ways.

 

THE WAY OUT.

With Inter owing almost 600 billion dollars, the leaders of the ship have to develop a blueprint of their plans.

The revival of football in Italy means fans could come back to the stadiums and Inter could capitalise on that quite easily. The prices could be raised a little bit but if planned strategically, revenues could increase.

Also if the Champions are even sold to some other business entities it could ignite a revamp at the Italian club helping them get out of this unusual situation.

Nerazzurri have to be street smart in the upcoming transfer window. They could take inspiration from Spanish club Barcelona who are looking to fill in the holes in their club by signing free agents rarely spending a pound.

The main aim for Inter Milan should be to cut back on their expenses. Football clubs do not often the term ‘thrifty’ but with so many so called Super Clubs struggling financially perhaps the unsustainable model with astronomical transfer fees and hundreds and thousands of pounds of wages every week needs to be re-looked at.

 

 

Zanetti believes with the world adapting to the pandemic and life returning to normal things could become normal for them.

“I saw that as a club we can still improve. The coach has done something extraordinary over two years, now it’s up to us to improve the internal mechanism and aspire to something more.”The financial problems remain and it could take a couple of years to rediscover that balance. We need people back in the stadium to make the sponsors happy. A return to normality.”

Though the ride is tough for Inter if the management stays positive and works efficiently things can pan out perfectly for them.

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