"Serie A's financial disaster is unsustainable" - Gazzetta
La Gazzetta dello Sport has published an extensive and damning report on the disastrous financial situation of Serie A clubs, as losses almost trebled last season.
Serie A has not won a continental title for more than a decade despite the fact that Italian clubs continue to spend money and increase their debts.
A long and scathing report in Gazzetta dello Sport by journalist Marco Iaria this Tuesday has brought attention to the precarious financial situation of the Italian clubs, who now find themselves in “emergency numbers” due to the heavy impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
The report highlights that losses among Serie A clubs reached a staggering €754 million (almost treble the €292 million figure recorded in 2018-19), while turnover fell from €2.7 billion in 2018-19 to €2.2 billion last season.
The most worrying figures, however, are those related to debt, which amounted to €2.8 billion in 2019-20, 300 million more than 2018-19. As the report highlights, Serie A club debts were "barely" €1.4 billion – half the current figure – a decade ago.
On a slight positive note, the clubs managed to keep expenditure stable at around €3.5 billion thanks to agreements to lower player salaries amid the pandemic, which lead to savings in the region of €250 million.
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Inter, Juventus and Roma have highest debts
As La Gazzetta explains, the clubs are now paying for “the compulsive purchases of recent years”, with transfer expenses rising from €628 million in 2017-18 to €933 million in 2019-20, which is an unsustainable situation.
As of June 30, 2020, only three Serie A clubs were bank-debt-free: Cagliari, Fiorentina and Naples. Meanwhile, the clubs with the highest net debts were Inter Milan (€630.1 million), Juventus (€458.3 million) and Roma (€552.3 million). For its part, Atalanta finds itself in a healthy financial position and posted profits for a fourth consecutive season thanks to successful transfer sales and its existence in the Champions League.