Inter chief executive officer Alessandro Antonello has shared his belief that reform is required as far as wages are concerned in football, especially at this time when clubs are suffering from a real lack of income due to the COVID-19 global pandemic.
“It is a topic of absolute importance for the world of football, which must be addressed to ensure the survival of the system,” Antonello explained in a talk with RCS Academy, as quoted by Italian news outlet FCInterNews.it.
“The problem of wages was born before the pandemic and it is right to do some self-criticism, but today it is unsustainable. Labour costs account for close to 70/80% of turnover, with this data no industry can hold up. A reform is needed.”
Asked about the possibility of a salary cap being introduced, Antonello went on to add: “We need to tackle the problem at a European level. The La Liga model of the salary cap can be an example to follow, the important thing is to be flexible.”
Antonello then went on to stress the difficulties that clubs find themselves in and spoke on Inter’s strategy as a club.
“There is a financial crisis, the clubs are putting in the resources but it will not be enough. Without a solution we will hardly face the future serenely.
“Unfortunately the pandemic has led us to experience unique circumstances. Inter in 2019/2020 was following a strategy that was working but was interrupted by the pandemic, for now the first thought is to protect the health of everyone at the club and the fans.
“We have not changed the strategy in the medium-long term. We follow two keywords and they are sustainability and stability at a sporting and economic level.”
In conclusion Antonello, who deals mainly with the commercial side of things at the club, spoke on the sporting side of things, namely Inter manager Antonio Conte and what he has done since his arrival at the club in the Summer of 2019.
“He gave impetus to the sporting results with the second place finish in the league and reaching the final of the Europa League, on the other side Inter has built a global brand trying to offer a product beyond the 90 minutes.
“From the entertainment point of view, this is why we pushed on the production of high-value digital content that helped us to stay close to the fan base and our partners. The goal remains to return to being one of the most important clubs in European level.”
Antonello has been Inter’s chief executive officer since July 2017 and was previously the club’s chief financial officer after joining the club from sports brand Puma.
