A lot of what is written regarding the summer transfer window just concerns names, transfer fees and salary, without much consideration regarding how much each deal affects the accounts.
The well-known football finance expert Felice Raimondo has provided a thread on Twitter in which he takes a look at various aspects of Milan’s business during the 2023 summer transfer window.
➤ Multi-year rights (net of disinvestments, amortisation and devaluations) increased by €90m compared to the last available figure (half-yearly 31/12/2022). Milan went from €155m to €245m.
➤ Increased depreciation and amortisation (net income/expense balance) by €18m. In the half-yearly report as at 31/12/2022 there was a decrease of €5m, projected to €10m as of 30/06/2023.
In the 2022-23 financial year contract extensions resulted in depreciation dilutions of €8m. Therefore, €8m plus €10m equals €18m.
➤ Gross wages increased by just €4.7m.
➤ Thanks to the capital gain from Tonali’s sale the figure for Player Trading (revenues minus costs of players’ salaries and amortisation) is negative by €8.8m.
This means there has been resource management on CEO Giorgio Furlani’s part, and there are still three weeks to go until the end of the market. Despite the obvious increase in multi-year rights – due to the big investments in players – amortisation and wages remain under control.
Milan continues not to overstep its bounds, rationally increasing costs in proportion to the increased revenue. The club are not going all-in on the present, but instead investing mainly on young and already experienced players, who create value and who are a year away from expiry (more cost-effective).
This is a management model that began five years ago and is now having a change of pace thanks to higher revenues and tidier accounts. Competitors are struggling thanks to munificent owners who take out loans or increase debt, or use alliances with other Italian clubs.
How long that can go on for is unknown. They are different management models, but they are always on the razor’s edge because it can quickly collapse.
What is certain is that AC Milan’s model has allowed the Rossoneri to invest more than any other, and those who think it is only due to Tonali’s sale evidently do not realise that there are those who make capital gains and yet fail to close signings.
Milan have created a gap with the competition when it comes to financial health and if the club manage to get their own stadium, that furrow will become a chasm.
On the pitch such a gap is not yet visible, but it will be in the years to come because success off the pitch is closely linked to success on it.