Scaroni discusses sustainability, success and San Donato: “We are not far behind” | OneFootball

Paolo Scaroni has today spoken about several key topics involving AC Milan, however, he has placed a large amount of focus on finances, especially those involving income and sustainability.

Across Italian football, the word sustainability is growing in importance, especially at the top level. Whilst spending levels are so high, gone are the days where Serie A clubs spend the most across Europe, and this is to ensure clubs stay afloat.

For example, the Premier League attracts more revenue streams than Serie A does, and this results in higher wages and higher transfer fees, this is why clubs must focus on spending smartly and sustainably rather than attempting to compete with the English clubs, at least when it comes to fees.

Milan, and their President Scaroni, are very much aware of this though, and when speaking at the Trento Sports Festival today, he spoke about the financial side of the Rossoneri, and his words have been relayed by Milan News.

Milan’s momentum…

“I have been president of Milan for more than six years and when I joined we were invoicing less than 180 million euros, now we are invoicing more than 450 million. The economic point of view is important, but it is only one part of the success. If we don’t win games we don’t go anywhere. These are two issues that depend on each other.

“The issue of economic sustainability is very important. Until some time ago there were presidents like Berlusconi and Moratti who put millions into the club at the end of the season to put things right. Now the situation is different and sustainability is fundamental.”

San Donato…

“Years ago I was one of the first to say that San Siro is old and I proposed tearing it down to build a new one. They looked at me badly because I wanted to knock down the Scala del Calcio. They knocked down Wembley in London. Clubs need modern stadiums, we are many years behind abroad.

“The hypothesis we are evaluating is the first one, that is to build a new stadium next to the San Siro. Even this morning I heard the mayor of Milan. Then we, as Milan, are also keeping alive the San Donato hypothesis, for this project we have already spent €40 million.”

The problems of Italian football…

“The only measure the government has done for football is to remove the growth decree. So the only thing it has done is negative, it has done nothing positive. We need to modernise the whole football system. I worked with two American funds and I realised that we are not far behind.

“Serie A is no longer what it was 30 years ago, we were the leaders in world football, and now if it goes well we are in third place. Even the Spanish have wetted our noses. This is the result of the backwardness of our football.”