Paolo Scaroni, the AC Milan president, speaking in an interview with “Affari&Finanza”, the business supplement of Repubblica, explained how important playing in the Champions League is for a club like Milan, not only from a sporting perspective but also financially:
“For a club like Milan, the Champions League means additional revenues of between €70 million and €130 million. It can be worth around a quarter of the club’s turnover. Running a club is like climbing two mountains at the same time: one involving sporting results and the other involving financial results. If you lose ground on one, you also lose ground on the other.”
Repubblica reported further comments from Scaroni:
“Across Europe, the commercial sector now accounts for 43% of clubs’ revenues. This is a model that has changed profoundly compared with the era of the great individual owners. ‘We are no longer in the world of Berlusconi and Moratti. Today, certain capital increases would be impossible,’ says Scaroni.
A question about the new stadium that Milan intends to build together with Inter was also unavoidable, a subject particularly close to the Milan president, who has been working on the project for years:
"The new San Siro arena, built jointly by Milan and Inter, will be the most beautiful stadium in Europe. RedBird, the fund that owns our club, has experience in this sector; it is not just a financial investor."
