AC Milan president Paolo Scaroni has once again stressed the importance of building a new stadium along with neighbours Inter.
Scaroni was interviewed during “Lo sport che verrà” – an event organised by the Foglio Sportivo – and he was asked about a number of different topics related to Milan’s future plans, with Calcio e Finanza relaying his words.
“At what point is the San Siro project? From what I read it seems to me that our cousins’ [Inter’s] problems are a bit behind them. I am convinced that we, Inter and the city of Milan all need a new stadium. We cannot go back to the top of Europe with this San Siro,” he said.
“I believe that the mayor and the municipal administration share our project, so we must absolutely accelerate the project. I still have the great hope that the inauguration of the 2026 Games can be made in the new stadium. Council re-election? I don’t have the impression that the stadium theme is an election campaign theme.
“It seems to me that, as regards the council and the mayor himself, they carried it out for a year: if the mayor was against he could have said it earlier. As for the opposition, I don’t see anyone opposed to the project. Everyone realises that the Meazza stadium we are fond of is an obsolete facility for our time. All of us Milanese would like a project, paid for by foreigners, to relaunch our city.”
The world of football was recently rocked by the news that 12 ‘founding clubs’ are ready to start their own competition. Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham from England are involved, plus Milan, Atletico Madrid, Barcelona, Inter, Juventus and Real Madrid.
However, the project did not last long as 72 hours later all but three clubs had withdrawn their support including Milan, with Juventus, Real Madrid and Barca seemingly facing some sanctions. On the Super League, Scaroni insisted that though the idea has died, the need for change remains.
“I believe that project is dead and gone. What is not dead and gone is the fact that the club grains are losing money at full throttle and cannot continue. It will be for Covid, it will be because there have been excesses, it will be that consumer behaviours have changed,” he said.
“Having the big clubs at a loss remains a problem that we must face together, looking at the revenues, to offer the public more attractive shows and we must also intervene on costs, because football’s survival derives from this. The Super League project is dead, but the reasons why it was conceived are still there.”
“Wage cuts? Another theme to reflect on. Naturally, the reflections must be made at a European level, not an Italian one. Done together with UEFA and involving a bit of everyone. These are issues already dealt with in other countries and which could become an element of discussion in Italy too.”
On the idea of a salary cap, he added: “Somehow FFP was built for the same reasons and with the same mechanisms. A well controlled and verified FFP could be another way to address the same issue. The debate has only just begun, it would be premature to draw conclusions. FFP has given benefits, the first clubs in Europe have reduced their losses thanks to FFP, even that can be a way to return to the economy of the big clubs in Europe.”
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