Il Sole 24 Ore journalist Marco Bellinazzo has tried to clarify Inter’s transfer market situation in his latest piece for Goal.com. He explains: “Inter’s problems will not be the restrictions set on Suning from China but more so their ability to balance the books. The limitations of the Chinese government don’t seem to be that much of a for Suning given their economic and political strength of the Zhang Jindong group. The things that have to be respected are more so the Financial Fair Play agreement signed by Erick Thohir which includes a monitoring period until the 2018-19 season. Inter needed to end the 2015-16 season with a deficit no more than €30 million and make it even by the end of June 2017. A target that they managed to achieve with the 2017 financial statements closed with a loss of €24 million from which however a number of “virtuous” expenses were deducted for the Financial Fair Play such as youth sector and Inter Campus.
Bellinazzo goes on to say: “revenues compared to 2016 actually increased by 33% thought to be around €320 million. They also managed net capital gains of €40 million from transfers and bonuses from playing in the Europa League group stages. This means that Inter’s net turnover has grown by around €60 million. However Suning cannot push the leverage of “internal” sponsorship contracts and revenue indefinitely as their failure to qualify for European football means no bonuses thus lower capital gains. This is why Suning has forced the management to reason in terms of economic self sufficiency to close the 2018 balanced accounts. Next year with prospect of Champions League football maybe you can think differently. The arrival of youngster Alesandro Bastoni from Atalanta goes hand in hand with this conservative perspective.”
