Tonight’s game between Napoli and AC Milan sees two very different sides faces off on the field in terms of form, but also away from the pitch they have key differences.
La Gazzetta dello Sport start by taking a look at the financial situations of the two clubs. The Campania club are close to break-even and will certainly be above it by the end of the current season, while the Rossoneri have accumulated aggregate losses of almost €1bn.
Over the years, the Neapolitans have always placed economic-financial sustainability at the centre of their project, while Milan have seen a marked change of course only in the last three seasons under Elliott Management and now RedBird Capital.
In terms of revenue, Milan are at almost €300m net of capital gains, with a further increase to come after renewed contracts with Emirates and PUMA. Napoli are at least a €100m behind, as in 2021-22 their turnover stood at €165m, while this season the ceiling of €200m will be exceeded thanks to the rich Champions prizes.
Milan are aiming for a diversification of revenues and, with the current president Cardinale, are strongly focused on the project of a new stadium, so as to secure additional revenues of €80-100m a year.
Napoli have been owned by Aurelio De Laurentiis for 20 years with a very streamlined chain of command and they have put the economic-financial sustainability of the squad first, but have not showed the same activism on the infrastructure front and on brand development, particularly abroad.
Player trading is another point of difference. Napoli have accumulated €301m in proceeds from the transfer market since 2017-18, against only €133m for Milan.
As demonstrated by last summer’s window, the Azzurri handle much more business than the Rossoneri on the market, although both clubs aim for self-sufficiency as in 2022-23 Napoli spent €94m but sold €72m worth of players, while Milan spent €49m and received €13m.
