Sports Business: SSC Napoli

“Rollercoaster of emotions”. I think this short phrase sums up the experience of being an SSC Napoli fan these days. From bankruptcy in 2004 to going inches away from a historic Scudetto in 2018, Napoli fans have really experienced it all recently.


A historic club and a city with unbreakable ties to football, Napoli, today, is close to ecstasy. League leaders by 18 points at the time of writing, the Scudetto seems like it may be heading back to Naples for the first time since 1990. On top of this, club philosophy, roster, and overall excitement around the club is enviable.


However, as aforementioned, things weren’t always like this.


Season 2004/2005. SSC Napoli find themselves battling for the Serie C1 playoffs against local rivals Avellino. In front of 21763 spectators, Edi Reja and a humble Napoli side fight to snatch a win after the first leg had ended 0 0. Despite being favorites to win and a tenacious performance, two goals from Biancolino and Moretti for Avellino doomed Napoli to another season in the third tier of Italian football.


Yet things weren’t as dark as you may imagine them to be. In other words, this wasn’t about to be the most classic of ‘almost’stories – and largely thanks to one man: Aurelio De Laurentiis. De Laurentiis, renowned film director, didn’t – and to this day, doesn’t – take “almost” stories. Like when on set, he imagines a scene and does everything in his power to make that reality – regardless of how unorthodox that path may be.


His way, or no other way.


De Laurentiis did much more than just relieve the club from bankruptcy.

He revived and brought back the love for football to Napoli. A city that, largely thanks to Diego Armando Maradona, worships and lives off football. Whilst his years at the head of the club haven’t always been sunshine and rainbows (to say the least), De Laurentiis has helped Napoli in ways that the average fan fails to consider.

The following season, Napoli earned promotion to the top flight of Italian football, led by Italian ‘bomber’ (slang term for goal scorer) Edoardo Calaiò, who found the net 16 times that season. Along with them, Juventus and Genoa were promoted, in what would be a fresh start for all three clubs in the division which they belong in.

Stubbornness

Since then, Napoli have had a lot of success.


Actually, let me rephrase.


Napoli have done really well for a club promoted back to Serie A less than 17 years ago – but I can’t refrain from mentioning that I felt like they’ve underperformed.


Over the past decade or so, Napoli has built a huge success story and remarkable teams. The Partenopei have boosted their trophy cabinet extensively. Testimony to the first, the Azzurri have added 3 Coppa Italia’s and 1 Supercoppa Italiana: impressive. Yet if we consider the caliber of players that have played for the club over the years, you can’t help but feel that they could have arguably done better. Edinson Cavani, Gonzalo Higuaín, Jorginho, Kalidou Koulibaly, Lorenzo Insigne, Dries Mertens, Pepe Reina, Josè Callejòn, Marek Hamšík and so many more. The level of these players, in any other team, would have perhaps led to a Scudetto.


But with Napoli, it didn’t. “Why?”, I hear you ask.


This is where we touch on De Laurentiis’ bad side. His stubborn side.

Over the years, especially the 2017/2018 season, Napoli had an incredible team. However, because of De Laurentiis’ stubbornness with investments and finances, it felt like there were just a few pieces missing. He would never go for that “extra” signing. The type of signing which makes good teams great teams.

During that season, Napoli, in my opinion, simply lacked a great Centre-back to pair with Kalidou Koulibaly. Raùl Albiol, 31 at the time, was past his prime. If you compare it with Juventus’ Bonucci, Barzagli, and Chiellini, you can see the slightest of margins which ultimately handed the team from Turin the Scudetto. Albiol, in my opinion, would have been an invaluable resource as a 3rd, rotational center-back for other domestic and international competitions. In front of him in a center-back hierarchy, Napoli should have put a young(er) center-back of the highest of qualities. That would have come with a bigger financial burden – and De Laurentiis wasn’t (and still really isn’t) a fan of that philosophy.


But Umberto, how come Napoli are doing so well now?


Good, actually, great question.

De Laurentiis-Giuntoli Strategy

De Laurentiis’ stubbornness, today, has (finally) paid off. Whilst I wasn’t a fond believer in not investing heavily into the club as that gave off an aura of high financial conservatism, the strategy eventually paid off. Even though De Laurentiis, in fairness, did loosen his grip on finances ever so slightly (which was inevitable seeing how crazy football markets have become in recent years), he has refrained from repeated high-value investments.


In fact, Sporting Director Cristiano Giuntoli and De Laurentiis have done an exceptional job at mixing their strategy. They’ve put together a remarkable mix of cheaper finds and amalgamated them with more expensive, proven players. The likes of Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (€15M), Giovanni Di Lorenzo (€8M), Zambo Anguissa (€16M), and Kim Min-Jae (€18M) were all signed for less than €18 000 000 respectively – absurd if you think about today’s transfer fees. In contrast, they then added the final touch to their masterpiece by adding in the proven, high-caliber players like Victor Osimhen for the price of €75 000 000 from LOSC Lille.


This investment strategy, in today’s footballing market, has undoubtedly paid off. Its low-risk (Napoli could hypothetically easily cut losses on low-value investments like Anguissa by selling the player to a smaller % of their value to other teams – which would be happy to take a player from a club like Napoli) factor makes it a special strategy which requires a lot of patience – but when it works, it will do wonders.


On top of this, their club philosophy, in which no player is bigger than the club, was designed similarly to AC Milan’s which we talked about in the previous episode. Club captain and true Napoletano Lorenzo Insigne knows something about it, and so does Gonzalo Higuain. Both of these forwards were denied lucrative contracts, and went searching for them elsewhere. Whilst the two may have then had the first laugh – obtaining desired amounts of money and footballing success respectively – it is now Napoli that laughs last. Their strategy has paid off, and their future looks as prosperous as it has ever done. Whilst this strategy may result in the loss of high-value players, the board has done a remarkable job at dealing with contracts in similar fashion as aforementioned. Testimony to this is the total market value of the team, which has increased from €471M to €543M in only one season: impressive.

Furthermore, we must also recognize Giuntoli and De Laurentiis’ dues because of the scrutiny their strategy received. Many tifosi of the azzurri and around Italy questioned the stubbornness. Other tifosi da bar (fans who chat about football as if they were experts at cafès) acted as Sporting Directors criticizing the cheaper investments and questioning whether these cheaper bets were ever going to pay off. They couldn’t believe that players from uncommon nations (Mexico, Georgia, South Korea, North Macedonia, Uruguay, Norway to name a few) would adapt rapidly to Italy’s system.


Yet here we are today.

Napoli’s Ship Soaring Through the Mediterranean Sea

On the field, the Captain is Giovanni Di Lorenzo. I’ve written in greater depth about how great he is and how criminally underrated his performances are.


On another note, off the field, the real mastermind is another man: Luciano Spalletti. Fresh off a new record, most Serie A Wins (276) in history, Spalletti has sat on the sidelines for various clubs around Italy. Udinese, AS Roma, Inter Milan and now SSC Napoli. Wherever he’s gone, Spalletti has brought some form of success to the city. In Udine, it was a first historic qualification to the UEFA Champions League. In Rome, it was two Coppa Italia trophies. In Milan, it was a remarkable UEFA Champions League qualification which put end to a 6-year-drought for the Nerazzurri.


Now, in Napoli, he’s about to rewrite history. Luciano Spalletti’s team is demolishing opposing teams as they currently find themselves at the head of the Serie A table with an 18 point gap from 2nd place Inter Milan. In fact, many question what their path will look like in the Champions League, as they show no sign of slowing down.


What makes everything even more exciting, is how perfectly well the pieces of the puzzle have come together in Naples. Spalletti’s game – aggressive and intense off the ball, exciting and offensive on the ball – suits its players perfectly.


The back-line is comfortable on the ball and extremely solid when facing opposition. Napoli have only conceded 15 goals so far this season. That is 0.63 goals per game – a significant improvement on last season’s 0.82 goals conceded per game. Offensive construction is also aided by one of Serie A’s great Center Defensive Midfielders, Stanislav Lobotka, who often slides in between the two center-backs and sets up plays. Midfielders Zambo Anguissa and Piotr Zielinski offer great balance and are able to find their forwards efficiently – as mentioned in Underrated Episode 1. Up top, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Victor Osimhen, and Hirving Lozano have played in a league of their own – this is especially the case for the first two. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Victor Osimhen have produced a combined 31 goals and 12 assists, with the first on top of the Assist leaderboard (9 assists) and the Nigerian striker on top of the Goals scored leaderboard (19). Flabbergasting.

Today, watching Napoli play is daunting. Daunting because you wish your club played like they did.

And whilst their likely first Scudetto in over 30 years may be a massive sign of success, it is the future that shines even brighter for la Città del Vesuvio. Off the field Napoli and De Laurentiis’ unorthodox strategies have yielded great success.

One-Of-A-Kind Business

First of all, an important mention must be mode for Napoli’s Kit Sponsorship deal, and howof a pioneer it truly is. To me, De Laurentiis really hit the spot with this one. On July 27th 2022, Napoli unveiled their new home and away kits, thus confirming their continued collaboration with EA7, Emporio Armani’s Sportswear line. This was another one of De Laurentiis’ mad moves, where he literally said “f**k it, I’ll produce them myself – that’s what you have to do at one point if you want to create change”, as he criticized Puma, Adidas, and Nike, who “create their kits 18 months prior to their release”. Whilst the 18 months is perhaps a hyperbole, there is some great truth and genius to his actions. In fact, not only does the partnership bring €9 000 000 to Napoli’s finances, but it also allows them to create designs and produce them with little turnover. In other words, thanks to its terms with EA7 (who don’t have other involvement in football’s markets) Napoli is truly independent when it comes down to kits. This means creating and displaying as many kits as they desire, whenever they want.


These conditions allow Napoli to release special edition kits and advertise them accordingly. In turn, not only does this create more opportunity to generate revenue, but also to commemorate special events – which is very much in De Laurentiis’style. For example, one year after the death of club and city legend Diego Armando Maradona, Napoli released 4 different kits with a design that pictures him in a Napoli jersey. Similarly, Napoli’s Halloween Jersey was explicitly said to be “an idea of the President” (Aurelio De Laurentiis). On top of this, Napoli also managed to sign a deal with Amazon worth over €2 000 000 – impressive for a sleeve sponsorship deal.

What makes this idea work so well – and Napoli a special place to play in – are the fans. Whilst the relationship between the players and fans has historically been rocky in Naples, you cannot deny the intensity of their passion. Their love radiates to the players, and this season, finally, the players are giving all of that back. Their engagement towards the club overall – including social media – has been notable. Over the past year and a half, Napoli’s Instagram account has seen an increase in followers by more than 700K followers, as they currently sit on 3M followers.


In terms of finances, Napoli has closed the 2022 financial year with a loss, but an improvement on the previous fiscal year. Its loss of €51 951 202 was a slight improvement on the previous year’s €58 941 765 loss. This is an important factor to keep in mind considering the size of the club and the direction it has gone in with its investment strategy.


Throughout these previous two transfer windows, Napoli has done some good, great business, ending with a net positive of €4 900 000. Players like Fabian Ruiz and Kalidou Koulibaly seemed to be irreplaceable – but again, the current season and the board’s strategy showed us exactly why this isn’t the case.

Urgently Needed: Modernization

Napoli fans, De Laurentiis, Giuntoli, the players, and everyone else at SSC Napoli have been patient enough. They are finally collecting the results of their hard work over the years – but we must question: what could be improved?


Not everything in Naples is great. Starting from the Stadium. The ‘Diego Armando Maradona’ Stadium needs a lot of work. To allow the stadium to compete with other stadiums in Europe, engineers have said that “a new exterior facade, the structure of the stands, and the roof would need complete redevelopment”. Whilst the stadium has received works worth around €23 000 000 in 2019, it is still in sub-par conditions and owned by the city of Naples. Pieces of concrete from the Curva have been seen tearing and falling to the ground – in what is also a safety hazard. What perhaps is even more frustrating, is the idea that the venue is in a one-of-its-own location, on the gulf of Naples. Renovations would allow the (home average) 38 000 spectators to enjoy their games even more. Whilst Naples carries the stereotype of being an old-fashioned city, far from the technological development present in cities like Milan and Turin, I still strongly believe that a Stadium – of property of SSC Napoli and not the town – would open up immense pathways for the club.

As previously mentioned in AC Milan’s SB article, a model like Tottenham Hotspur’s is the one to follow. To add to this, the English club just recently announced a partnership with F1 – another brand who has done a one-of-a-kind job of promoting itself on digital platforms over the years – to have car-racing events held within the stadium.


Finally, I also believe that the club should capitalize on this season – and increase their social media content creation. A first historic scudetto in 30 years not only should be documented crisply, but shared with all the fans around the world which will inevitably hear about the Azzurri’s story. This idea is emphasized even further if the Parteneopei end up encountering success in the UEFA Champions League – Europe’s most prestigious competition.

Future Steps

Overall, things are not looking half bad in Napoli. With the city in ecstasy, it is curious to see if the board will adopt a change in strategy to ride the wave of enthusiasm and create a dynasty for the years to come. However, that may have to come with more important capital investments, which now, regardless of end of season income and prizes from competition wins, seems unlikely. I am most curious to see how Napoli close out the season – which I hope sees them go far in Europe and carry the Italian – and Serie A’s – flag high and proud.

References


https://fbref.com/en/squads/d48ad4ff/2017-2018/Napoli-Stats
https://www.legaseriea.it/it/serie-a/statistiche/dettaglio/player/2022-23/NAssist/Assist
https://sport.sky.it/calcio/serie-a/classifica-marcatori
https://www.forbes.com/sites/danieleproch/2023/01/23/napoli-manager-luciano-spalletti-sets-new-rec
ord-for-most-serie-a-wins/?sh=1ea5cd23dc18

https://www.ilnapolista.it/2022/10/formisano-napoli-la-maglia-piu-venduta-e-quella-di-kvara-per-nata
le-ci-saranno-delle-sorprese/

https://football-italia.net/napoli-announce-losses-for-third-consecutive-year/#:~:text=Napoli’s%20fina
ncial%20statements%20for,16%20of%20the%20Champions%20League.
https://www.transfermarkt.us/victor-osimhen/profil/spieler/401923
https://www.transfermarkt.us/ssc-neapel/startseite/verein/6195

https://www.speakrj.com/audit/report/officialsscnapoli/instagram

https://www.soccerbible.com/performance/football-apparel/2022/07/napoli-unveil-2223-home-away-s
hirts-from-ea7/

http://stadiumdb.com/news/2022/02/italy_they_are_patching_up_the_holes_in_naples

https://www.calcioefinanza.it/2021/07/21/napoli-maglie-autoprodotte-2/

https://www.pazzidifanta.com/news-fantacalcio/sponsor-maglie-serie-a-ricavi-squadre-calcio/#:~:text
=EA7%20e%20Napoli%20si%20sono,milioni%20di%20euro%20a%20stagione.

https://fbref.com/en/squads/d48ad4ff/2017-2018/Napoli-Stats
https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cristiano_Giuntoli
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ra%C3%BAl_Albiol
https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Societ%C3%A0_Sportiva_Calcio_Napoli#Palmar%C3%A8s
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006%E2%80%9307_S.S.C._Napoli_season
https://www.skysports.com/serie-a-table
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S.S.C._Napoli
https://fbref.com/en/squads/d48ad4ff/2021-2022/Napoli-Stats

Sports Business: AC Milan

Written by Umberto Pelà

May 2011. The Rossoneri and their fans have just won their historic 18th Scudetto and Il Diavolo is preparing for an unquestionably prosperous future. That previous, successful season, AC Milan had perhaps one of the scariest teams of all time, including once-in-a-generation talents Alessandro Nesta, Gennaro Gattuso, Clarence Seedorf, and a prime Zlatan Ibrahimović. Whilst many of these phenoms that made up that historic team were now reaching the end of their careers, the Rossoneri had set the fundamentals for a future full to the brim with success. Thiago Silva, Kevin Prince Boateng and Alexandre Pato were set to be the foundations of the next generation of AC Milan domination. 

Fast forward 10 years. AC Milan are yet to win their 19th Scudetto. This expected period of domination following the 18th Serie A Title, to say the least, did not come. 

During this time, the Milanese club failed in flabbergasting fashion to exert any sort of dominance as the transition from the old generation of players to the new one was conditioned by a variety of poor decisions. 

Throughout those 10 excruciating years, AC Milan and their fans suffered. They assisted to a period of pure, shocking dominance led by Antonio Conte at Juventus and the rebirth of Milan rivals Inter Milan. In turn, Il Diavolo only managed to collect numerous 6th place finishes and other disappointing results. The suffering was exacerbated by economic and political chaos within the club, following Li Yonghong’s short stint as Chairman of the Club as he took over from Silvio Berlusconi in 2017. What seemed to be a new chapter that gave hope to the fans only set fog and a sense of unclarity around the club. Mr. Yonghong wasn’t able to repay high-interests on loans he had obtained from US Hedge Fund Elliott Management worth approximately $300 Million, which ultimately lead to Elliot Management seizing the club in 2018. A questionable investment which didn’t obtain the desired return,

Yonghong Li was – per people close to the transaction – always going to lose. Considering the high interest rates on the loans, the same source added “If Yonghong Li pays, Elliot wins, and if he doesn’t pay, Elliott will seize the club”. 

On top of that, in his short stint, his subordinates CEO Marco Fassone and GM Massimiliano Mirabelli took AC Milan and drove it into the ground with a series of questionable investments. €240 million spent in one summer, with no clear direction on what the strategy was going to be. Ultimately, what Italian fans do remember about that summer transfer window was the now-comedic “passiamo alle cose formali” (“let’s get to business”), which 

CEO Marco Fassone would say just before the newly announced players signed their lucrative contracts. 

The board, ecstatic for the money pump from the club’s new ownership, had put together a talented, yet anomalous group of domestic and international players, hoping that some magic would come out of it. 

Player Date Cost
Leonardo Bonucci 20.07.2017 €44 000 000
André Silva 13.06.2017 €34 000 000
Franck Kessié 02.06.2017 €32 000 000
Nikola kalinić 21.08.2017 €27 000 000
Andrea Conti 07.07.2017 €24 000 000
Hakan Çalhanoğlu 30.06.2017 €21 000 000

Lucas Biglia 17.07.2017 €19 000 000

Mateo Musacchio 02.05.2017 €17 000 000

Ricardo Rodriguez 13.06.2017 €14 000 000
Fabio Borini 30.06.2017 €5 500 000
Antonio Donnarumma 11.07.2017 €1 000 000

And this magic did not come, ever. In fact, 5 years later, all 11 players departed the Meneghino club leaving an almost comic tint on that 2017 summer transfer window for AC Milan. 

No identity, poor finishes in the league, partnership deals coming to an end. AC Milan felt like a Ferrari stuck in the mud. No matter how hard it accelerated, there was no chance of movement. 

360 Turn 

When in 2018 Elliott Management finally took over control of the club, it felt like a needed fresh start. 

Instead of accelerating, that same Ferrari was now taking some time to assess what the best options were to get out of this sticky situation. UEFA’s one-year-ban from European competitions between 2019-2020 further encouraged this reflection, which ultimately led to a 360° turn in the club’s management. The Rossoneri had now decided to take a step back, ask for help, and get towed out of the mud in order to get back on the road to success – a road that they had traveled on for most of their history. 

At the head of this 360° turn was former captain and club legend Paolo Maldini, assisted by his right arm and Football Director Ricky Massara. The two understood the gravity of AC Milan’s financial situation, and decided to act upon it.

First and foremost, they changed their strategy. AC Milan and their fans had to wave goodbye to lucrative, €40M + transfers, as Maldini focused on a low-cost strategy. This would include scouting of young, raw talents that would come at lower prices, and a good mix of experienced players who still had a few years of high-level performances to give. The plan was to build for the future, and so they did. With the aid of Chief Scout Geoffrey Moncada, in the following 2 seasons the Rossoneri put together an impressive list of transfers for even better prices. 

Below, what I see as Maldini and Massara’s most notable transfers over the past few seasons. 

Player Year BornCost * Value Today (January 2023**)Difference between Cost and Market Value Today
Rafael Leão 1999 €29 500 000 €85 000 000 +€55 500 000
Pierre Kalulu 2000 €1 200 000 €35 000 000 +€33 800 000
Ismaël Bennacer 1997 €17 200 000 €40 000 000 +€22 800 000
Theo Hernández 1997 €21 500 000 €60 000 000 +€38 500 000
Olivier Giroud 1986 €1 000 000 €4 000 000 +€3 000 000
Fikayo Tomori 1997 €28 800 000 (+ €50 000 000 € 600 000 loan fee) +€20 600 000
Mike Maignan Sandro Tonali 1995 2000 €14 400 000 €35 000 000 €6 900 000 (+ €50 000 000 €10 000 000 loan fee) +€20 600 000 +€33 100 000
Zlatan Ibrahimović1981 €0 €0 (Retirement) €0

*Transfer fees reported per Sky Sports 

**Market Value determined by TransferMarkt 

On top of this, the leadership team at AC Milan also took an important stance with their wage management. Contrary to what the markets are moving towards nowadays, the Rossoneri decided to let go of any players who felt unhappy with their contracts and had put in excessive wage requests. Whilst this saw the loss of high-caliber players like Gigio Donnarumma, Franck Kessie, and Hakan Çalhanoğlu for a combined fee of €0, the remarkable scouting work done behind the scenes made the fans forget about these players soon enough.

Maignan, Bennacer, and Tonali soon became fan favorites as they replaced AC Milan’s previous deserters. 

AC Milan’s management also enabled the club to make a smooth transition to financial stability with the help of key partners and partnerships. In June 2022, AC Milan renewed their initial 2018 Sponsorship deal with German sportswear brand Puma for a further 5 seasons. The deal was reported to be worth €30 000 000 per year, bringing in vital funds for the club’s finances. On top of this, AC Milan’s management carried out a remarkable job in expanding into untapped markets and exploring strategic partnerships that would allow the brand’s image to grow exponentially. 

Most notably, its recent partnership with popular designer brand Off-White created a lot of noise in (and out) of the footballing community. The two struck a 3-year-partnership deal which will see Off-White serve as AC Milan’s “official Style and Culture Curator”.

The partnership created a lot of “hype” on Social Media too, with AC Milan’s account receiving 600 000 likes on Instagram over the first 5 posts promoting the collaboration. 

The club’s marketing efforts following the change of ownership have also been rather remarkable. In 2018, it launched a new app for the fans to immerse themselves fully in the Rossonero world. Similarly, in 2020 it landed on popular social media platforms TikTok and Twitch whilst also launching a partnership with Jay Z’s Entertainment Agency Roc Nation. The “Milan Media House” was then launched in 2021 and was greatly successful in bringing fans as close to the first team as they had ever been before. 

Marketing and Digital Director Lamberto Siega “manages a team of 40 people in the technical and creative areas”,which have propelled the club’s marketing performances into great success. AC Milan has “500k average monthly visits” to acmilan.com, 13M followers on Instagram, 1M+ subscribers on YouTube, and an estimated cumulative online audience of 500M users. On top of this, The fans can now engage in different ways such as electing the team’s ‘MVP of the Month’, joining the Matchday ‘Prize Contest’, Special Member-Only Events or buying the team’s merchandising. Think about this: when the club won its 19th Scudetto in May of 2022, over 3M people streamed the celebrations through the AC Milan app, with “concurrent views peaking at 50,000”. Overall, this clearly shows how the club has made a transition to a fresh, sustainable philosophy both on and off the field. 

Financial Performances 

The strategy switch enacted by the club’s management has produced wonders on and off the field. From the football point of view, we saw the strategy ultimately culminating with the bringing together of a talented team and the 19th Scudetto in May 2022. It is off the field, however, that AC Milan has surprised many.

As highlighted in Deloitte’s most recent ‘2023 Football Money League’ report, AC Milan generated a noticeable +22% on its revenues compared to the 2021 financial year. This is especially noteworthy if we consider the COVID-19 restrictions that prevented in-person attendance at the San Siro. With €264 900 000 generated in revenue, AC milan was 16th in 

Europe’s top clubs for revenue generated – third if we consider only Italian clubs. Compared to AC Milan’s revenue from the pre-COVID seasons, the 2021-2022 Season had greater amounts of revenue coming from the commercial side and broadcasting side (€87M and €146M respectively). Whilst the matchday revenue still came together for €32M, it amounted to comparatively less (12%) when put next to the 2019 season (18%). Negative at first, this metric is still positively valuable because it reminds us of AC Milan’s cheap season tickets – as low as €199 per season, with a “good” seat coming at around €400 per season and implies that the club expanded in different ways over the course of the past few years. On top of that, that metric should not scare Rossoneri or their fans, as their club had an at-home average attendance of 73,032 fans, only second to Milanese rivals Inter Milan who had just a few more: 73,250. 

Furthermore, as mentioned earlier in the article, the wage management was also significantly improved, as their % in wages to revenue ratio decreased significantly from 108% to 64% in the space of 2 years (2020-2022). This metric is important to consider (regardless of how arguably flawed it may be due to potential layoffs following the pandemic) because it is the reflection of a change in strategy that the club had. 

What’s next? 

AC Milan is now valued at €1.1B. Even though it is operating at a €98.2M loss, it has cut down these notably compared to the previous season (€194.6M). Its growth in the past few years has been remarkable in all areas of competency, and it is now also heading towards a strong, stable financial future. Yet in my opinion, it is far from where it wants to be. 

In order to get back to where AC Milan deserves to be, the club must do three things: move to a new stadium, win domestically, and win internationally. For the first point, let’s take a look at Tottenham Hotspur’s model. The English club has produced a state-of-the art stadium in

just a few years, and is now showing the rest of the world why clubs must own or restore their clubs, and they have to do so now. 

Tottenham Hotspur, with its new stadium, has quite frankly experienced a spectacular rebranding as part of their commercial strategy. With a self-owned stadium, Chairman Daniel Levy makes sure that gameday revenues are all for the club. The stadium, which disposes of a retractable field that makes way for an artificial grass field, is also host to an annual NFL game, and will be for the next 10 years. These types of events not only expand the Tottenham Hotspur name to an American market, but also function as another form of income as the games generate an estimated €1.5M from merchandise, food, and beverages. 

Today, AC Milan (and Inter Milan) are trying to move out of the historic Stadio San Siro, but bureaucracy in Italy and Minister of Culture Vittorio Sgarbi seem to be halting this process. The two clubs pay approximately €8M per season to play in the San Siro, which is owned by the City of Milan, and locals Milan seem to be opposing the initiative. As a result, not only are the two clubs forced to host home games in a decaying stadium which does not grant a high-quality fan experience, but also lose out on a ton of opportunities for the clubs as businesses. The approved plan for the new stadium called ‘La Cattedrale’ would reportedly be the “most sustainable and inspiring stadium” in Europe, elevating fan experience by bringing fans closer to action (similarly to English stadiums), offering lounge spaces, bars, a modern open space on the roof of the stadium, and a museum. These would be accessible all-year-round, thus generating revenue on a constant basis for the Milanese clubs. Further, La Cattedrale would be able to light up in the colors of the club playing, allowing for branded messages to reach its fans. Ideal.

Finally, for the latter two points, there is unfortunately (or fortunately) no objective way to obtain success on domestic and international terms. That’s the beauty of football: its unpredictability. 

Maldini and Massara, with the aid of Coach Stefano Pioli, have put together an impressive team which is now back to competing for the Scudetto year-in-year-out. Over time, especially if it wants to address its international competitions, the club may have to transition to a slightly more spending strategy compared to its current sustainable one. 

Whilst domestic success may occur with the current philosophy, I personally see international success as more and more improbable if a club doesn’t bring in star players from other clubs – especially with the investments that other European teams such as PSG, Manchester City, and Chelsea are making nowadays. Granted that this is a more risky strategy, I still believe that 

Maldini and Massara have at the least earned a shot at a transfer window with a significant increase in budget compared to the previous seasons. If this were to be the case, I wouldn’t be surprised to see AC Milan back on “Il Tetto d’Europa” (“On top of Europe”) soon. 

But for now, let’s appreciate the greatness of AC Milan’s comeback, both on, and off the field. 

Written by Umberto Pelà (21.01.2022) 

Notes: 

‘Scudetto’ – Nickname for Italian Soccer Championship 

‘Rossoneri’ and ‘Il Diavolo’ – Nicknames for AC Milan 

‘Meneghino’ – From Milan

Key Partners 

– Puma 

– Emirates 

– EFootball 

– Off White 

Key Activities 

– 

– Investment Strategy 

– Reformulation of market strategy 

– Wages and Investments 

– Social Media 

– Data and statistics 

– Relationship to the Fans 

Revenue Streams: 257 Million USD 

– Tickets 

– Crucial aspect – new stadium 

– Comparison to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium 

– 

Team Value: 

– 1.2 Billion 

References: 

https://www.ft.com/content/bbc841e0-8689-11e8-96dd-fa565ec55929

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010%E2%80%9311_A.C._Milan_season https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011%E2%80%9312_A.C._Milan_season https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012%E2%80%9313_A.C._Milan_season https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_A.C._Milan_seasons 

https://sempremilan.com/gds-maldini-massara-moncada-operate-milan https://sport.sky.it/calciomercato/calciomercato-milan-acquisti-maldini-massara#24 https://www.calcioefinanza.it/2022/04/17/da-240-mln-30-milan-il-mercato-di-mirabelli-e-fass one-cinque-anni-dopo/ 

https://www.sportspromedia.com/news/ac-milan-puma-kit-supplier-deal-extention-house-of-f ootball-serie-a/#:~:text=Serie%20A%20champions%20AC%20Milan,supplier%20and%20of ficial%20licensing%20partner. 

https://www.off—white.com/en-lv/collections-editorial/off-white-co-ac-milan#:~:text=Off%2 DWhite%E2%84%A2%20AC%20Milan&text=Matching%20actions%20to%20words%2C% 20the,opportunities%20to%20develop%20their%20talents. 

https://www.acmilan.com/en/news/articles/club/2021-02-08/ac-milan-the-studios-milan-medi a-house 

https://www.acmilan.com/en/fans/fan-engagement/rossonero-fan-engagement

https://digiday.com/marketing/core-part-of-our-sustainable-approach-ac-milan-on-growing-its -social-media-footprint/ 

https://www2.deloitte.com/uk/en/pages/sports-business-group/articles/deloitte-football-mone y-league.html 

https://assets-eu-01.kc-usercontent.com/1293c890-579f-01b7-8480-902cca7de55e/ff458afb-1 e9e-41f1-b55e-8beb6ffcefa5/Bilanci-Relazioni-2020-21-ENG.pdf 

https://www.archilovers.com/projects/257526/la-cattedrale.html#info

https://www.pianetamilan.it/news-milan/ultime-notizie/stadio-san-siro-milan-inter-calcio-fina nza-ultime-news-oggi-10-12-2022/#:~:text=Dalla%20stagione%202015%2F16%20al,e%20 Milan%20in%20ogni%20stagione. 

https://www.forbes.com/teams/ac-milan/?sh=a2993993a037

https://nypost.com/2018/07/11/hedge-fund-billionaire-paul-singer-takes-over-ac-milan/