Top European clubs see the Superlega as the solution to their dramatic cash lapses. But what will remain of the national tournaments if they cross this line? Lotito leads the branch and with seven votes can blow the deal.
As with any major crisis, even Italian football does not escape the law of the jungle. "Mors tua, vita mea": the largest eats the smallest. We could have used the metaphor of the wolf eating lambs, were it not that only in this case do the Lambs play the part of the wolf. The dividing point is the highly contrasted entry of funds into the League. No one is able to guarantee that it represents the ideal solution, twelve or perhaps thirteen Serie A companies, the "minor" ones, are however convinced that this is the only way to try to survive the absolute, by now, lack of liquidity, effect of the pandemic.
The day before yesterday, the assembly should have decided on the allocation of resources and confirm the contract (term sheet) with the CVC-FSI-Advent consortium. Instead, they took more time. But, despite official statements, the postponement was not of a technical nature. Far from it.
What happened? That there was a branch in the League - led by Claudio Lotito - willing to blow up the operation while maintaining the status quo, is well known. In the preliminary phase, however, the alternative proposal of Fortress (mega-loan) was blocked since a large majority supported by Juve, Inter and Milan had chosen to allocate 10% of the capital to the media company - the Milan Board of Directors have already approved.
For a few weeks the balance has been hanging on the side of the No Funds, having signed up for Juve and Inter. The new element is - in fact - the Superlega, or the project to replace the Champions League with a self-managed event by the top clubs that would come out of the UEFA orbit to concentrate the mass of revenues on the accounts of the founders - UEFA, for its part, is working on the Super Champions.
According to a document that has been circulating for months, the founders (15, perhaps 16) would have guaranteed places, while the rest of Europe would play the remaining five “cards” through the national championships (and preliminary qualifying rounds). The articulation is simple: two groups of 10 teams with home and away matches, the first four of each group move on to quarter-finals, then semi-finals and final with a single match. Midweek commitments.
Who are the founders? The English Big Six (United, City, Liverpool, Chelsea, Tottenham and Arsenal) and then Bayern, Milan, Juventus, Inter, PSG, Real, Barça, Atletico, Ajax and perhaps Benfica. The Super League would include 193 matches against the current 125 in the Champions League. So more hours of broadcast and more sponsors. Expected revenues: 4 billion, to be divided by 20. Each would receive from 100 to 350 million per year, depending on the placement range, tripling current income. These are not absurd estimates: in 2019, Uefa collected 3.25 billion. Removed costs, solidarity bonuses and Uefa share (6.5%), it paid out 2.5: after also subtracting the Europa League prize pool (500 million), 2 billion remain for the Champions League distributed among 42 teams. The advantage for the European football elite would be overwhelming.
The pandemic has evidently accelerated the project as some clubs find themselves in very serious financial difficulties and others have to return from colossal investments, difficult to cover with closed stadiums and sponsors in the balance. The hole in the balance sheets is scary, but even more is the cash deficit, which exposes to default.
The masters of the show think this way: we have the champions league, we invest hundreds of millions, we set up the squads that raise the audience ratings and allow UEFA to sell the show all over the world. With our turnover, we maintain an organization that disperses revenues in a thousand streams: the time has come to concentrate on the value. Florentino Perez, architect of the project, has been weaving the canvas for more than a year. Then there are the utterances of Bartomeu, the defenestrated president of Barça, who candidly declared that he approved the membership before leaving. Added to this are the leaks on the participation of the British Big Six and Tebas, president of La Liga, who recently accused Infantino of supporting it under the radar. In the background the creeping war between the powers of football.
What does all this have to do with the media company? There is a demand of a liability clause that requires the clubs, and not the Lega, an unrecognized body, to preserve the value of Serie A rights. Understandable: Zhang is forced to sell due to notorious financial problems, but the Super League would double the club's value. As it closed days ago at BC Partners, rumors were spreading about Fortress's rescue. Yesterday, the Financial Times revealed that Suning is seeking 200 million in extraordinary finance to buffer commitments by saving the season. And Fortress is the white knight of Lotito.
Now, barring new unforeseen surprising events, 14 out of 20 votes are needed to close the deal. But Lazio's no, followed by Atalanta is obvious, even if Luca Percassi doesn't like to be associated with the president of Lazio, Naples, Verona and Fiorentina. Udinese in the balance, Inter and Juventus become decisive.
What is the argument ( a very bizarre one) of the opponents? Essentially this: to sell 10% of an empty club to 1.7 billion would put the future of Italian football in the hands of funds. For some it would result in disguised financing at high costs. All this when Serie A fails to reach the target value for television rights at auction.
In the alternative scenario (the loan), the Italian Calcio system today 90% indebted would take on a new debt which would, yes, be repaid by mortgaging future revenues to ensure the payment of interest and capital, while a shareholding should not be repaid. The funds are not benefactors, but they have an interest in working to enhance the rights, improving Serie A's ability to sell them around the world. It is the only way a member can make money, while a lender can always take away the keys in case of default. Not a small difference. There is another aspect to underline: what signal will Serie A send to foreign investors interested in our clubs? What message will arrive abroad if Friedkin, Commisso, Krause and the others find themselves without stages?
Marianna Madia was parachuted into the Chamber on the wave of her declaration: "I bring my extraordinary inexperience to Parliament." At the first session they assigned her the seat next to Massimo D'Alema's. She introduced herself. "Let's say I know you, miss," the politician replied. And she: "Eh, President, unfortunately I am haunted by that unhappy phrase." And D'Alema: «I give you some advice: there is only one way to make people forget a bullshit, and yours was such. Shoot an even bigger one », as reported by Corriere dello Sport.
