Summer mercato 2012

[GeoTav]

Actually speaking of FFP, we should acknowledge that Umberto Gandini, who many of you will know as a director for us, is vice president for the European Club Association (which came from G-14 in the past). This group represents over 200 clubs in Europe and FFP was essentially sanctioned with their approval, as well as the process for gradual introduction (leniancy) of the rule.

What this means for us is that we have someone within the club who fully understands and appreciates the rule, as well as probably knowing how serious UEFA are about implementing it. I think this is also one reason why we're taking the law so seriously.

I think we're well on our way to short term adherence to the law with our current mercato strategies, something I've spoken about in my last post. However, unless we get investment in a stadium and more successful youth development, we're screwed in the next 3-4 years, or at least we won't be competitive.

You know, if the main teams (the ones spending each summer - and at the same time, our competitors over the years) are out of the CL because of the FFP rule, then, even if we're not as competitive as we should be, the remaining teams won't be that competitive too, and the winner (us, of course) will get some money then from the CL win, money that will be added to the transfer budget, etc ...
I think when the first big teams will be excluded, the few teams remaining and managing to go far in CL will be the big winners of tomorrow (because the clubs with debts will have to sell, and the teams with money will be the ones who win, as a consequence, by winning and getting some money from the wins, you will allow yourself to reinforce your team and be stronger).

[Iggy]

Zlatan is officially PSG player according to their website.

Congrats with the scudetto and ruling Serie A Juventus....

[xudong]

Actually, I think our relationship with Raiola is pretty much over, as I don't think any of our players are now represented by him.

On the one hand I'm a little disappointed, as being on good terms with Raiola is often beneficial to the club's successes. On the other hand I'm relieved, as Raiola epitomises why everyone hates agents.

Are you sure? He still has Didac Vila and a Primavera player (Roggia?), I believe. What about Urby Emanuelson (I am not that sure)? or even another youngster (Innocenti), I seem to read somewhere that he is too.

I wonder if there is a resource where we can get that kind of information.

[reza]

Dev in your post you expect us to 40-45 and then Geo, others and yourself talk of being in good shape for FFP. I understand we saved a lot by the leaving players and Ibra, Silva too. If one is to believe the doom and gloom that has necessitated such drastic moves then it can not be 'replaced' by the amount you expect.

[WCmilan]

Why doesn't damiao convince some of you? Id prefer him to dzeko

[am I Milan enough?]

http://www.football-italia.net/21269/gal...n-champion

"Rest assured that a champion up front will arrive at Milan."

A champion. Okay, I'm officially worried now.

Gentle reminder here : Super Pippo still has got no club

[ACMILAN1983]

You know, if the main teams (the ones spending each summer - and at the same time, our competitors over the years) are out of the CL because of the FFP rule, then, even if we're not as competitive as we should be, the remaining teams won't be that competitive too, and the winner (us, of course) will get some money then from the CL win, money that will be added to the transfer budget, etc ...
I think when the first big teams will be excluded, the few teams remaining and managing to go far in CL will be the big winners of tomorrow (because the clubs with debts will have to sell, and the teams with money will be the ones who win, as a consequence, by winning and getting some money from the wins, you will allow yourself to reinforce your team and be stronger).

It really depends, as we really don't know if these big teams will be excluded to begin with. They might find ways to stay in CL maybe through some loophole, or they might be calling UEFA's bluff as we know how much commercial revenue UEFA can gain from keeping these clubs with massive stars in the competition.

You're also assuming we'll be competitive, which at this point looks pretty questionable, and in CL we may not do that well if Barca and Real keep their finances in check and remain in the competition as you said. Don't forget teams like Bayern are also in a strong financial position
and already extremely competitive.


For now, we need to try and remain competitive in Europe (i.e. frequently reaching knockout stages and facing top sides) and try to win domestically. If we can do this and make investments which will help increase revenue and reduce costs (i.e. stadium and youth), then we'll be in a strong position in a few years time to maintain our position as a top team. This is easier said than done though.

Are you sure? He still has Didac Vila and a Primavera player (Roggia?), I believe. What about Urby Emanuelson (I am not that sure)? or even another youngster (Innocenti), I seem to read somewhere that he is too.

I wonder if there is a resource where we can get that kind of information.

Sorry you're right, Lucas Roggia's agent is Raiola (not sure if the player's still with us). Didac and Urby have different agents, Raul Jimenez Verdu and Brian Berkleef respectively, I think maybe Raiola just helped facilitate their moves to Milan, while I'm unsure about Innocenti.

As for resources, I just do searches where there are articles mentioning players agents.

Dev in your post you expect us to 40-45 and then Geo, others and yourself talk of being in good shape for FFP. I understand we saved a lot by the leaving players and Ibra, Silva too. If one is to believe the doom and gloom that has necessitated such drastic moves then it can not be 'replaced' by the amount you expect.

Fair point, but what I will emphasise is at this stage of FFP, clubs apparently need to show they are taking steps towards reducing debts, rather than being in the black. In this respect, this summer we have made definite steps to show this.

Also, if we consider what we have done, we could be in the black next year (the first time since we sold Kaka). This is because we made a loss of around 70m this year and if I remember correctly, we average a loss of around 60-70m a year, which until now Berlu has always covered himself.

Let's say we save around 20m as I suggested we might from the recent sales. On top of this we add 25-35m that's been forecasted by a market expert on milannews (sorry I can't find the article mentioning this) as savings from player salaries of those departed and I'm not even sure that's counting Ibra's and Thiago's salaries. Worth noting that's a figure given after factoring in the new salaries from purchases this mercato. Add these together and this year alone we'll save around 50m. Bearing in mind that we're still likely to sell a couple of more players (Mesbah and Taiwo) with no replacements coming in, meaning we'll be looking to save or generate another 10-15m (both the money we get from the sale and the money we save on salaries) over the coming year. That means in theory we will cover (actually reduce) the vast majority of potential debt next year, assuming our income is relatively stable.

In this respect, we look ok for FFP for the time being. However, our side is clearly losing quality and I fear for CL qualification when considering the strength of our competitors (Inter and Roma are taking steps to improve, Lazio have lost Reja but are an unknown force while Napoli look strong too).

In the forseeable future though, this still means we're still struggling to break even in the best case scenario (we'll probably still be in debt as we're not selling stars every summer), meaning as FFP becomes more tightly controlled, we still have pretty much nothing to invest in our squad.

My point is, our actions this summer may put us in a stronger position for FFP for the immediate future. Unfortunately, until we're able to develop our own talents, meaning we don't spend high transfer fees for every player in our squad every mercato and are generating revenue from our own stadium to equal, if not better, our competitors, the future does look bleak as best.

I want to clarify I write this with my understanding of FFP and our financial situation, which is very limited at best lol

[reza]

I want to clarify I write this with my understanding of FFP and our financial situation, which is very limited at best lol

Thanks Dev, good points. This requires a different kind of plan (new and changed reality type) which I am skeptical Berlusconi and/or Galliani are capable of.

I kept that part of your post quoted because I want to say please don't be a finance expert, no one should be, I can get political about it so I will stop lol

[GeoTav]

About Innocenti, the young player was one of the Raiola players, and during the Ibra negotiations, Raiola came in Milan to make him sign in a Serie B club ...

[Hasan Rossonero]

Damiao's agents are apparently in Via Turati (milannews).

I always liked Ibra so I am sad to see him go. Thanks for the memories T. Silva and Ibra.