AC Milan president Paolo Scaroni has revealed why the club cannot compete at the elite level currently.
The club has been out of the Champions League for over five years now, though there is optimism that a return to Europe’s top club competition can be achieved this season.
Scaroni was present at training at Milanello on Friday to wish the team good look for the campaign ahead, and he has lifted the lid on Milan’s currently financial situation.
“Milan? I don’t want to sound venal to you, but it’s all a question of money,” he told the Rimini Meeting during ‘Stories of Managers, Men and Women’ (via Calciomercato.com).
“Why is Milan not good? I’ll explain it briefly: Milan’s revenues are €200m while Real Madrid’s are €700m. This means that Real can buy better players and pay them more.
“But how do we get to a billion in revenue? You have in front of you two mountains to climb at the same time: the first mountain is sporting results, if you lose all the games you don’t go anywhere.
“The second is a mountain of economic results: you have to have a new stadium, you have to look for new sponsors, you have to sell your TV rights as much as you can, you have to go and get your fan base in the world and make it receptive to your products to increase your turnover.
“FFP means that it’s no longer possible that an owner puts a billion in and buys players, you can buy players and spend heavily only if you make profits and making profit is not easy. This is the great challenge we have ahead of us.”
READ MORE: Six key things that will define AC Milan’s 2019-20 season
