Lega Serie A President Paolo Dal Pino hits back at Amanda Staveley, saying PCP Capital Partners opted to invest in Newcastle rather than Inter or Milan because they prefer utilitarian vehicles over Formula 1 cars.
Last week, the managing director of PCP Capital Partners revealed that the group had considered buying a majority stake in Inter and Milan before acquiring Newcastle.
“We talked to Inter Milan, but the problem was the structure of the league was a mess,” she said.
Lega Serie A President, Paolo Dal Pino didn’t hold back and replied during Sport Industry, organized by RCS Academy.
“If Amanda Staveley preferred to invest in Newcastle than Inter or Milan, you can see that she likes utilitarian cars and not Formula 1,” Dal Pino said, as quoted by Calciomercato.com.
“We have eight foreign properties, seven American and one Chinese who believed in Serie A and believe there is potential for growth.”
The Serie A clubs owned by foreign businessmen are Bologna, Spezia, Venezia, Milan, Inter, Fiorentina, Roma and Genoa.
Miami-based firm 777 Partners acquired a majority stake in Genoa last month. All the above-mentioned Serie A clubs are run by American owners, except Inter, who are owned by the Chinese group Suning.
“When you invest, you look at the potential of the market in which you operate,” Dal Pino continued.
“The moment you look at Italian football, you see that it is a great opportunity because it has unexpressed potential like no other league. When all the big international funds look at Serie A, they do it because there’s potential.
“It’s up to us to pull that potential out now. I sincerely prefer to have 90% of a thing that in five or six years is worth €30 billion, rather than 100% of a thing that today is worth 17 may lose value in a few years.
“We have the duty to create value, not only for Italian investors but also for those who come from abroad.”