Many Italian teams have worse losses than AS Roma

The authoritative Swiss Ramble reflects on ASRoma's 2018/19 accounts which cover a season that the owner James Pallotta harshly described as 'a complete disaster'. They fell from 3rd to 6th in Serie A and exited the Champions League at the last 16 (compared to the semi-finals in 2017/18).

The loss before tax improved from €18m to €15m, despite revenue falling €17m (7%) from €253m to €236m & €63m cost growth. Offset by profit on player sales rising €75m to €129m. Revenue fell €17m (7%) to €236m, mainly due to less progress in Champions League: TV down €22m (13%) to €145m, match day down €5m (14%) to €34m. However, commercial was up €10m (21%) to €55m.

Despite the decrease in 2018/19, ASRoma's €236m revenue remains the third highest in Italy, but it is now less than half of Juventus’ €495m and a substantial €140m behind Inter €373m. Roma’s revenue mix: broadcasting 61%, commercial 23%, match day 14% and player loans 1%.m. Including player trading, revenue up €61m (19%) from €320m to €381m.

In the last 3 years, ASRoma have only grown revenue by €15m (7%), while Inter (up €194m) and Juventus (up €123m) have powered ahead. In the same period, they have also been outpaced by Atalanta, Napoli and Lazio. Only Milan have a lower rate of growth.

Revenue figures highlight the importance of qualifying for Europe, particularly the Champions League. The 2018/19 revenue of €236m was greatly influenced by €66m from Europe’s leading tournament (TV €58m + match day €8m), though not as much as prior year’s €98m.

AS Roma have earned an impressive €282m from Europe in the last 5 seasons, only surpassed in Italy by Juventus’ €447m, but comfortably ahead of Napoli €185m, Inter €67m and Lazio €59m. Will receive lower money in 2019/20, due to only qualifying for Europa League.

The €15m loss before tax is not great, but is by no means the worst in Italy, as seen by Milan’s huge €143m loss, followed by Inter €40m and Juve €27m. Just over half the clubs in Serie A lose money. The most profitable are Atalanta €35m, Sampdoria €19m & Sassuolo €13m.

The last time that ASRoma reported a profit before tax was back in 2009 – and that was just €3m. Since then, they have suffered losses 10 years in a row, adding up to a hefty €286m. In fairness, the losses have fallen for the last two seasons.

Profit on player sales is increasingly important for ASRoma, averaging €93m a year over last three years. Excluding this activity, 2018/19 loss would have been €144m. This season the only notable sales to date are El Shaaraway and Gerson, though January window still to come.

After many delays the mayor of Rome has approved the new stadium. Pallotta: 'If we want to consistently compete with the largest teams in Europe, we need the stadium.'

Pallotta noted, 'FFP is a reality for us and it has dictated many of our actions.' It is therefore problematic that ASRoma failed to qualify for the 2019/20 Champions League, as the Europa League is far less lucrative. Long-term the new stadium is a must for a sustainable model.

It's no deal say Spurs insiders over Taiwanese takeover

Senior figures at Tottenham Hotspur insisted on Friday that they had not been informed of any deal to sell Daniel Levy’s stake in the club. A business group, Eight Sports Capital — which is said to include a billionaire Taiwanese financier — claimed that it had an agreement in place to buy a 24.99 per cent stake in ENIC, the club’s majority owners, from Levy, who owns 29.88 per cent. The Times has been told Ng Wing Fai and Brooklyn Earick form part of the group, having both been linked previously to potential takeovers of the Premier League club. The Taiwanese businessman, Richard Tsai, is also said to be part of the consortium. He is reportedly worth £7 billion. Last year Earick, the former DJ and tech entrepreneur, was part of an attempted £4.5 billion takeover, which was “unequivocally rejected” by Spurs. An ENIC spokesperson said: “We can confirm that neither ENIC nor THFC are aware of any sale by Daniel Levy’s Family Trust of its minority stake in ENIC, THFC’...

Reports about Charlton sale exaggerated

Reports have appeared in The Guardian and elsewhere that Charlton has been put up for sale. Richard Cawley is an authoritative local journalist who runs a South London Sport substack site. He reached out to the club yesterday evening to ask for comment on The Guardian’s article. Early indications from the club have been that nothing has changed since the story about them seeking investment, except that it is now a different company doing it. Charlton have since managed to consolidate their place in the Championship, avoiding an instant return to League One, with their women’s side promoted to the WSL, returning to the top flight for the first time since 2007, although staying there is likely to be costly. It would be counter-intuitive for owners Global Football Partners not to progress the club when looking for investment, that the focus remains on driving it forward, that their spend this summer is in line with long-term planning and will see an increase in wages spent on players...

Hull City's 'strange' loan

When football finance guru Kieran Maguire seems flashing lights in a club's loan deal, I become concerned. He is the leading football finance expert in the UK. Hull City have borrowed £55m against their stadium and training ground yet they should get £30m from the Premier League before long. What is going on? https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/cpwel48y51do

The Political Economy of Football V2

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