A failure to qualify for European football for the 2020-21 season would do significant damage to AC Milan’s finances, a report has revealed.
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The Rossoneri currently sit in the bottom half of the Serie A table having lost six of their first 11 games this season; their worst start to a campaign for 78 years.
Stefano Pioli has not transformed fortunes instantly, and Milan are already eight points behind Cagliari who occupy sixth spot – the last European place in the table.
As La Gazzetta dello Sport note on Wednesday (via MilanNews.it), Milan’s goal at the start of the season was to reach the top four and finally return to playing the Champions League.
Without that, the club would miss out on at least €50million, which comes from matchday revenues for the three group games (at least), the sponsor bonuses and the €40million minimum that UEFA awards.
As for the Europa League, the minimum income can be estimated at €15-20million based on the same revenue streams.
The paper continues by claiming that failure to qualify for a European competition at the end of the season would not only be a problem for the Milan club’s accounts, but also a blow to Elliott’s entire project.
The continued absence from European football has depleted the Rossoneri brand, and that simply has to be the objective between now and the end of the season, something which reinforcements in January could help with.
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