New Palermo investor Dario Mirri admits the financial status of the Serie B club is still “not very clear” and he’s not sure how wages will be paid.
The club was saved from bankruptcy after a takeover was abandoned thanks to the €2.8m introduced by Mirri.
This was officially an advance for Mirri and his company to purchase advertising space for the next four years.
New Palermo investor Dario Mirri admits the financial status of the Serie B club is still “not very clear” and he’s not sure how wages will be paid.
The club was saved from bankruptcy after a takeover was abandoned thanks to the €2.8m introduced by Mirri.
This was officially an advance for Mirri and his company to purchase advertising space for the next four years.
However, this remains a stop-gap solution used to cover the outstanding player wages for previous months and more money is owed by March 18 to pay the January and February salaries.
“Albeit with great difficulty, we received almost all the documentation on Palermo’s finances. I am able to say that Palermo have debts amounting to €47m,” said Mirri.
Former President Maurizio Zamparini is currently under investigation for financial fraud and self-money laundering because of a strange arrangement he created to prove Palermo’s stability in previous years.
He allegedly created a company and sold the ‘brand’ of Palermo Calcio to it for a huge sum, then loaned it back to the club for a much smaller fee, effectively removing the debt.
“The issue of the ‘brand’ is not very clear. We don’t know if it’s a credit, a debt, if it’s guaranteed or not. I didn’t understand much about it,” confessed Mirri.
“I fear whoever thought this up did so precisely to ensure everyday folk wouldn’t understand it. Rinaldo Sagramola and his staff are preparing a clear and intelligible document to put at the disposal of anyone who wants to purchase Palermo. It’ll be ready in a couple of days.”
Current Palermo director Rino Foschi “stated he is certain that the salaries for January and February will be paid. He probably has a solution lined up, but with the paperwork at my disposal, I don’t see what it is.”