The Political Economy of Football V2

How do the teams in the Uefa competition finals compare financially? Manchester City are much stronger than Inter financially, as their £619m revenue is over twice as much as Inter’s £261m. This is also the case with squad cost, as City’s £1.1 bln is significantly higher than Inter’s £505m.   The difference in wages is smaller, but City’s £354m is still nearly 70% (£144m) more than Inter’s £210m. The finalists in the Europa League are much closer from a financial perspective. Roma’s £166m revenue is slightly higher than Sevilla’s £158m, while the Italians’ £155m wage bill is around 15% more than the Spaniards’ £133m.   There is only a meaningful difference with the squad cost, where Roma’s £302m is 40% (£86m) higher than Sevilla’s £216m. As might be expected, given that one club is from the minted Premier League, there is a much wider financial disparity between the two finalists in the Europa Conference League.West Ham’s £255m revenue is a hefty £155m more than Fiorentina...

The European Commission is holding up Italy's recovery cash over disagreement about the eligibility of certain investments — including two sports stadiums. Italy, the EU post-pandemic recovery fund’s largest beneficiary with over €190 billion allocated, is a bellwether for its success, and so is being closely watched. The Rome government wants to use some of the cash, designed to help boost Europe's economies after COVID, to upgrade Fiorentina's 1930s football stadium and to build a new one near Venice. Upgrading Florence football stadium is Mayor Dario Nardella’s pet project. He secured €95 million in EU and national funds to refurbish the old and now dilapidated Artemio Franchi venue, home of Fiorentina. The stadium, built in the early 1930s, is considered a “major national cultural infrastructure.”  It is used on the pages of Italian passports.   In 2021 it was declared a protected landmark. The reinforced concrete stadium, owned by the city of Florence...

Fiorentina have made record profits, largely due to player sales: Record results Part of the reason for a record profit of over €35m was a profit on players of €88.7m, up from €31.8m in 2016.