Commerce and nostalgia are actually hardly compatible opposites in football. In Italy, however, this sport is called calcio, and the clocks tick a little differently. In other words: commerce and nostalgia, that fits very well, at least if it evokes happy memories.
Inter Milan fans associate times like this with an Italian tire company, whose logo was emblazoned on the shirts for advertising purposes for 26 years. A quarter of a century, you have to imagine that. Even in leisurely calcio, that’s an eternity. The Brazilian Ronaldo wore such a jersey when he was presented with the world footballer’s award in 1997, and the Argentinian Diego Milito also wore it when he shot Inter to a triple victory in 2010: Champions League, championship and cup – that was not only a triumph for the then club patron Massimo Moratti, but also for his buddy Marco Tronchetti Provera, the boss of the advertising tire company. For Tronchetti Provera, sponsorship was a small childhood dream, as glorifying as it sounds at first: There are pictures of him with Inter fan paraphernalia when he was just a little plug.
Inter will miss out on €85m in revenue
Connectedness creates reliability, with a view to Inter’s present this is not a platitude. Because the club has experienced a turning point: Inter has been owned by the Chinese group Suning since 2015, which according to its own information once had big plans for the club, but is now in financial difficulties itself. Fresh money is therefore no longer available, but at least the search for new advertising partners is still being pursued via global cold calling.
Perhaps it would have been better to have taken a closer look at who is being landed: since this season, the main sponsor has been Digitalbits, a company from the crypto industry based in the USA. Inter’s CEO Alessandro Antonello believed in a great deal: Thanks to this partnership, Antonello exulted, one would “strengthen global reach among younger and digitally savvy people”. Something similar was heard from AS Roma, which also presented Digitalbits as the new main partner. The only problem is that none of the two clubs have yet received any money, although the first tranches were due in early July.
This is a fatal situation for Inter in particular, because the owner Suning is making billions in losses in China, the Milan balance sheet has been heavily in deficit for years – and now there may still be 85 million euros missing, which should flow in from digital bits over a period of four years. Only Juventus receive more money from their shirt sponsor in Italy.
This is probably one of the reasons why Inter is more willing to escalate than Roma: The logo of the crypto company was removed from the jerseys of the youth and women’s teams, and there is no longer any reference to the new main sponsor on the Milanese website. There is also a threat that the company will be taken to court and the Digitalbits logo removed from Serie A team kits – possibly as early as this Friday, when Inter could celebrate their third win of the season in three games at Lazio. AS Roma have so far avoided such maneuvers and are keeping a low profile.
It is considered impossible that Digitalbits will still transfer money
In Italy it is said that the clubs are in talks with Digitalbits to find a solution to the matter as soon as possible. But actually everyone already knows what this is likely to lead to: there will be no more money. Because Digitalbits, which offers a confusing smorgasbord of digital services and applications, has suffered a massive crash like the entire crypto industry: Compared to the all-time high, the company has lost more than 90 percent of its market value – in less than a year.
It can be ruled out that Digitalbits will serve as a long-term source of income for Inter and Roma, which is why both clubs have long been looking for a new main sponsor. But your negotiating position could be better. Both clubs are entering the sponsorship market as supplicants, and at the worst possible time, because the best deals have long since crossed the global counter.
In Milan in particular, this is exacerbating the already rigorous austerity measures. Inter President Steven Zhang, son of Suning boss Zhang Jindong, has given the strict dictate that the club must generate at least 60 million euros on the transfer market so that the balance sheet does not look so disastrous. plus valence that’s what it’s called in Italy, and this word now causes stomach cramps in the Tifosi of Inter: last year the club was forced to take in more than 100 million euros from player sales.
At Inter they are happy that most top performers stayed
In view of such constraints, Inter sports director Giuseppe Marotta does a decent job. Total discipline in bookkeeping is required of him, while at the same time he must produce good deals in large numbers. The homecoming of striker Romelu Lukaku, for example, was particularly profitable. He is playing again in Milan for a comparatively moderate loan fee after Chelsea FC had paid 115 million euros for him a year ago. The fact that Inter is still the title favorite in Italy is mainly due to the fact that some key players, despite lucrative offers Not were sold: The winger Denzel Dumfries, who is coveted in England, will probably stay, as will the defender Milan Skriniar, who was hotly courted by Paris Saint-Germain.
At Inter they have decided on an alternative path. Instead of big names, masses of talent were sold, for example the highly acclaimed playmaker Cesare Casadei, who joined Chelsea’s youth team for €15m. Sounds like a lot of money for an 18-year-old who hasn’t worked professionally. At Inter, however, they know that what looks like a good deal today can become a moderate debacle tomorrow.