Il Sole 24 Ore journalist Marco Bellinazzo has examined the current financial situation that Inter find themselves in and touched upon the settlement agreement as part of a column for Goal.com.

“Inter and Milan are grappling with the idea of a roller coaster “repair market” and with the additional difficulty brought on by financial fair play, they risk limiting their operational autonomy. The effect could be similar for the two Milanese clubs, though the starting situations are clearly different.”

Bellinazzo then went on to discuss Inter’s situation with regards to the settlement agreement they signed back in 2015.

“The settlement agreement will remain in place until June 2019; The restrictions on player registration in European competition will remain in place and in addition to this there will be a need to maintain a balance between the values of players signed and moved on.

“Inter achieved their goal of closing the balance sheet even on 30 June 2018 by achieving capital gains of €45 million, mainly thanks to the sale of young players from the Primavera. By 30 June 2019, Inter does not have a downward obligation to reach a balanced budget and therefore is not forced to make certain capital gains.

“However, the management has decided to try and close the year balanced and then start next season completely free from UEFA sanctions.”

Bellinazzo concluded by taking a look at how Inter’s 2019 accounts could look like.

“Inter’s closed their 2017 financial statements with a loss of €17 million (after taxes) and a structural imbalance of about €50 million. The 2019 accounts will be heavier in terms of costs due to the impact of new purchases and contract renewals but will benefit from the Champions League and Europa League revenue.

“Obviously the latter depends on how far Inter go in the second-rate continental competition. In the end, it is likely that Inter will be in the red and need to resort to sales but a sale of even just €20 million could be enough. This should allow the Beppe Marotta to be able to move with a certain agility on the market.”