Inter have made their stance clear regarding the nonpayment of €16 million on their main shirt sponsorship deal with cryptocurrency company DigitalBits.
Responding to the nonpayment in a statement through their Media and Communication House, via Italian football finance news outlet Calcio e Finanza, the club make clear that they will be prepared any action they deem necessary to protect their interests.
DigitalBits still have not paid the initial amounts owed on their main shirt sponsorship deal with Inter this season.
In addition, the cryptocurrency still have some outstanding debts from last season.
The amount owed for this season comes to €16 million, whilst for last season the company has paid the €5 million owed for sleeve sponsorship and the €100,000 bonus for reaching the Champions League knockouts, but not the €1.6 million for winning the Coppa Italia and finishing second in Serie A.
The money owed is not the only issue, as the club details in their statement, as DigitalBits have also failed to produce work on a digital ecosystem project as stipulated in their contract with the Nerazzurri.
“In addition, the partner has not yet presented the contractually envisaged project relating to the integration of the Group’s digital ecosystem, which has just been renewed by our club,” the Nerazzurri write in their statement.
“We understand that the crisis in the cryptocurrency sector, which worsened during the second quarter of the year 2022, significantly affected the client’s ability to fulfill its obligations,” the statement notes.
Inter make clear that “We reserve all actions and remedies to protect our interests and contractual rights, and in the meantime, we have removed the partner logos from our websites, billboards, and the shirts of the youth and women’s teams, maintaining, for the time being, the presence of the sponsor on the first team shirt.”
