Seems like TV rights is the key to turning profit as a large team in sports today. That's the formula of the New York Yankees, the only American sports team that can be realistically compared to a superclub like Man U or Real. On paper, the Yankees lose money, but when the TV is factored in, they turn a significant profit.

We are. A part of it, is because of what Moratti is doing/has done at present/over the last 5 years. It shows Silvio in harsh light.

And, besides sponsorship, it's hard to bring in any other investment, because there are very few returns in Serie A.

We're one of the best run clubs in football...no question. We're just about 50 million short on cash every year, and I don't think it's fair to expect Silvio to put in that money year on year.

If we were playing in the EPL, with Silvio, Galliani and their management team, we'd be head and shoulders above the rest. I'm not even going to talk about La Liga.

I can't agree there to be honest. I don't think we are managed well overall. Keeping a club out of debt is what is expected, that's the norm, we're a very average run club.

This post has been edited by kurtsimonw: Apr 8 2010, 04:58 AM

15 years ago, maybe. But not anymore. Then you have no well run clubs among the top teams. In fact they're all pathetically run.

The management has been doing well over the years but lets not ignore the fact that while they are good at attracting sponsors and creating revenue generating oppurtunities in the season by loan deals like Beckham and travelling to the USA/Dubia etc; they are very poor in the transfer market.


Lets look at some deals in the last 5 years that were just outright stupid:


Gourcuff: Signed at the age of 20 for 3 M euros. Stayed in Milan for 2 years and at the age of 22 was loaned out to Bourdeax for "to get more playing time" as galliani said. If were loaning him to get more playing experience, why in the hell did we attach a 15 M buyout clause on his head?

Overall: Great deal, great scouting but poor decision making.




Oliveira: Signed at the age of 26 for 18 M euros. Stayed on season and was loaned to zaragoza and then eventually bought by them for 10M euros.

Overall: If were going to spend 18M to sign somebody, he better damn well be sticking around for more than 1 season.



Emerson: Transfered from Real madrid for approx fee of around 5-8 M euros. Stayed on for 2 years and recieved limited time. We eventually terminated his contract.

Overall: Was this transfer really necessary? Waste of money if you ask me.






These are some of the deals that come to mind and i'm sure there are alot more examples.


Furthermore lets not forget the extention of the oldies. That debt alone was probably the reason Kaka was sold.

Well, the source of clubs revenues is very different in Italy than it is in Spain, England or Germany. I n those countries, the income from tickets, sponsoring and TV rights are very well balanced, while in Italy over 60% of the leagues income comes from selling TV rights, which is not very healthy tbh. The entire leagues suffers from a bad image abroad AND at home. The reputation of Serie A stadiums is so bad that many Italians prefer to stay at hhome rather than to watch a football match live. This will, in the log run, ruin Serie A, as it takes a decent source of income and will further damage Serie As reputation.

Actually according to the last financial statement I read, Lapalma, the income was roughtly in thirds between tv revenue, tickets, and marketing (jerseys, etc).

Was that statement on AC Milan or Serie A? Cause, the numbers I had were on the entire league.

That was AC Milan's 2008 audit.

Exactly what I'm saying. If he's tired of it, sell up, nobody s forcing him to keep the club

Nobody in Italy wants to buy a club I think. It's just too much of a money drain. And a non-Italian wouldn't be welcomed at all.

You don't really know that since there aren't any foreign owners yet. I think everyone would learn to accept it over time. This backwards thinking is what's taken Italy from the pinnacle of football to barely clinging on as one of the top 3 leagues in Europe.

There would be plenty of foreign investors willing to buy a chunk of Milan, but Silvio is too pig headed to give up any ammount of control.

I already see the cycle turning. The EPL is rolling back now. The clubs there are a right mess. La Liga's time will be up. Madrid and Barca alone cannot carry that league. I reckon even if things stay as they are in 5 years Serie A will be back top.

Can't see it. The German and French leagues have improved a lot over the past few years.

English teams are built on depth and that's what they'll continue to do as it has worked out for them, and I can't see the bubble bursting anytime soon. And the Spanish league has always been mainly about Real and Barca, sure there was the years when Valencia took the title by surprise, but mostly it's always been those big 2.

Italian football has been at a standstill for years now, and they don't seem to want to improve things. Italians don't like change and I can't see any big change coming that can truly jump start the league again. Our president is a prime example of this.

Silvio doesn't care about Milan, never has, the only reason he pumped in the millions before is because he's no idiot. Milan was always his ticket for political success, now that he has that he doesn't see any reason as to why he should keep pumping money into the bottomless pit that is a football club

Can't agree on this. EPL is still a very strong league in financial terms, although the clubs debt is a heavy burden. They still have the advantage of the english language which makes marketing a lot easier for EPL. La Liga will also stay on top as Barca and Real will never go bankrupt no matter what they do.
Also, han is right when he says that Ligue 1 and Bundesliga improved in the past 5,6 years.
And I'd be interested in the reason for your optimism in Serie A. If things stay as they are Serie As situation won't be any better in 5 years than it is now. They way back to the top is not the fall of others but the rise of Serie A itself. Can't see much of this right now.