First champions, then cup winners, now in the Champions League final – Inter Milan is experiencing sportingly successful times. But they hide the true state of the club.
At the end of the 2020/21 season, the wait was over for Inter. More than ten years after the last championship so far, the club won the Serie A title again. Inter received the trophy between just a few fans with corona masks in the Guiseppe Meazza Stadium.
The success continued: the club lifted the Italian Cup in the 2021/22 and 2022/23 seasons, never finishing below third place in the league since 2020 and thus becoming a regular in the Champions League again. Inter could now win the premier class for the first time since 2010, on Saturday (June 10th, 2023, 9 p.m. in the live ticker on sportschau.de) the club will play in Istanbul in the final against Manchester City. But the good sporting results belie the true state of the club, which is owned by Chinese group Suning.
Big party, few guests: Inter became Italian champions in 2021 amid the pandemic.
Big losses, big liabilities
Financially, in contrast to the sporting results, Inter has gone downhill. At the end of October 2022, the club published his record for the 2021/22 season. Almost 900 million euros liabilities are mentioned in it. After a loss of 246 million euros in 2021, there was another loss of 140 million euros in 2022.
Shortly before these figures were released, Inter, led by President Steven Zhang, had already had trouble with UEFA’s Financial Control Body. In September 2022, the chamber found that Inter, along with seven other clubs, is said to have violated the central provision of the rules of financial fair play: the club spent significantly more than it earned.
Steven Zhang, President of Inter
According to the UEFA chamber, Inter had to pay four million euros, and a further 26 million euros in fines are possible if Inter does not meet UEFA’s conditions in the next five years. In a settlement agreed with UEFA In the event of further violations, exclusion from the European Cup is also mentioned as a possible consequence. The financial imbalance becomes particularly clear when looking at the tasks involved in squad planning.
The team needs to be rejuvenated
The team achieved great things by reaching the final of the Champions League. But the average age of the squad is around 29 years. Players like 37-year-old Edin Dzeko and 34-year-old Henrikh Mkhitaryan currently shape the team, but they also have their careers in mind because of their age. They are key positions that need to be filled by new players – at a time when UEFA has imposed a policy of austerity on Inter.
Experienced players: Edin Dzeko (right) and Henrikh Mkhitaryan
The lack of money made itself felt earlier. Coach Antonio Conte left the club after winning the title in 2021, the club management sold several important players: Romelu Lukaku, who has since returned, went to Chelsea for more than 110 million euros, Achraf Hakimi moved to Paris Saint-Germain for almost 70 million. Simone Inzaghi then guided Inter to more titles and the Champions League final. But the team needs to be rejuvenated and strengthened to maintain the level.
Inter’s leaders are dreaming of a new stadium
And the team is just one of many tasks. Another big issue will be the stadium. The Guiseppe Meazza Stadium, which is associated with tradition, emotion and many experiences for many fans in Italy and abroad, no longer meets the demands of the people who control modern football in modern football. A new building has been under discussion for years, sometimes with and sometimes without local competitor AC Milan.
“Our priority is a new stadium”said President Zhang, “with or without AC Milan”. You have a close relationship with the history and the roots of the club. “But we also have an eye on the future.” Financially, however, Inter is far from being able to build a stadium.
Still Inter’s home: the Guiseppe Meazza Stadium
Inter introduced crypto sponsor who never paid
Having reached the final of the Champions League already guarantees Inter around 100 million euros.
A relief? Only in part, because Inter gambled a similar amount elsewhere. A cryptocurrency was presented as a shirt sponsor at the beginning of the season, there should be 85 million euros in real money for it – the money never came and Inter was left with the damage.
Inter Milan’s Federico Dimarco with the crypto sponsor on his chest
US $275 million loan is due in a year
In the meantime, the problems were so great that Inter and its Chinese owners took out a loan of 275 million euros from the investor “Oaktree” in the USA in January 2022. as Inter officially announced. The money is due in May 2024 plus interest. If the money doesn’t come back, Inter could soon fall into American hands. “It’s not our plan, we want to offer ourselves as partners and support the club”said Oaktree manager Alejandro Cano. “But who knows?”
According to media reports, Suning has already tried to offer the club for sale for more than one billion. But a buyer who would buy all the problems mentioned for this price has not yet been found.