Inter CEO Beppe Marotta explains why the Super League was a legitimate project and insists huge investments from Premier League owners are not ‘an ideal model.’
Marotta gave an interview to Il Corriere della Sera to discuss the state of Italian football. The Inter director blamed the Italian Government for the lack of help to Italian football clubs.
“Serie A lost €1.2 billion due to COVID, we didn’t ask for financial help, but tax deferral. It wouldn’t have had consequences on Italian taxpayers. We are denied any help,” Marotta said.
So, how will Serie A get over the economic crisis?
“We need competent owners, stability and continuity even to the detriment of sports results.
“The league must be reshaped with 18 clubs and could reintroduce semi-professionalism for lower leagues.
“Rich Premier League owners do not represent an ideal model. It’s a specific situation that the rest of the system can’t use,” Marotta continued.
“We must give value to our resources, cut costs and improve our facilities. Those who spend the most do not win, it is better to give value to competence.
“I am optimistic, but we lack attention from the State, 153 new stadiums were built in Europe over the last ten years, only one of them in Italy.
“They must reintroduce a Minister for Sport, the recovery plan will bring €235m, football and sport must have an important part in it, we need a national project to sustain it because sport represents a big slice of the Italian economy.”
The economic crisis was one of the reasons why 12 elite clubs, including Inter, launched the Super League in March.
However, the project collapsed within 48 hours, with the Premier League clubs withdrawing from the competition, followed by the Nerazzurri, Milan and Atletico Madrid.
“The Super League was a cry of alarm, of despair, of some clubs with a strong competitive objective. The organizational model must be revised,” Marotta said.
“We could act better in the form, but the end justifies the means. COVID and debts drown the clubs. The difficulty is to combine the concepts of business and meritocracy.”
Marotta added that he is against a World Cup every two years: “It would restrict the clubs’ activities and increase the risk of injuries.
“How are they protecting clubs? If I give you a player for two months, why it’s just me who is paying him?”
There have been rumours that Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) is interested in buying Inter, but Marotta insists the Zhang family have a long-term project for the club.
“They invested almost €1 billion in five years, and that’s not ethically sustainable. Now, we are out of the tunnel, there is stability. Zhang has passion, he’s confirmed multiple times his long-term commitment to Inter.”