Milan general manager Adriano Galliani explains why the credit crunch won’t hit Italian football, but could affect other Leagues.
This week UEFA warned that they would clamp down on clubs that are deep in debt and possibly prevent them from entering continental competitions.
“The world of Italian football is not very indebted towards the banking system, because this business may run at a loss, but those losses are always covered by the shareholders,” said Galliani.
“Certainly, there is a debt to the banking system, but it is not excessive, so I don’t think there will be any great problems associated with that.
“However, there are most definitely clubs who are deep in debt and will have a few issues to deal with, but it does not appear to be an Italian problem.”
Italian clubs are forced to prove their financial stability before they are allowed to register for the new season with Serie A, B or C.
This rule is not the case in England or Spain, where many sides are heavily in debt and continue to spend record-breaking amounts on new players and wages.
This week Football Association chairman Lord Triesman warned “debts in English football as a whole have probably edged to the £3bn mark.”
After a period of frugal spending following the spate of bankruptcies that hit Napoli and Fiorentina among others, Italian football has gone back to splashing the cash on the transfer market, as only the Premier League spent more this summer.
“I don’t think there will be any consistent cuts in spending,” continued the Milan general manager.
“In Italy a football club earns two thirds of its income from the sale of television rights, then there is 20-25 per cent in sponsorship deals and 10-15 per cent from tickets.”
Galliani has often been vocal in his complaints at the economic system in Italy making it difficult to compete with Spanish and English clubs in terms of wages.
“It might be different if we introduced a law like there is in Spain, where foreign citizens – whether sportsmen or not – are given a different tax code.
“This is a huge advantage and England also have generally lower taxes compared to Italy, but above all in Spain the foreign citizens have a 24 per cent tax rate if they work for no longer than five years.”
-Channel4.com