What did Agnelli say?
He said: “My firm opinion that we will have a real understanding of what this crisis has meant for clubs only at the end of the season.
“I have seen the Deloitte study that came out yesterday. I was looking at data for the top 20 clubs whereby we had a €1.1 billion hit in the 19-20 season and the estimate for those 20 clubs alone is a €2 billion hit for the combined two years.
“I think it’s going to be much worse than that. The 2019-20 season only has three or four months of crisis, of empty stadiums, no fans of stadiums, commercial rebates, broadcasting rebates, whilst as it seems right now from my point of observation 2020-21 will be a full season without fans in stadiums.
“We are in the middle of (broadcast) tenders. Some have been out, the Germans have been out, they’ve had a loss of value 10 per cent. We are seeing international broadcasters not paying their dues.
“And so I think this season will be much worse. So I mean, it’s gonna be much worse than what we’ve seen there.
“When I look at the best information I’ve had so far, we’re looking at a bottom-line loss for the industry in the region of €6.5 billion to €8.5 billion for the combined two years, and about 360 clubs in need for cash injections, whether it’s debt or equity within those two years, for an amount of €6 billion.”
What did Deloitte predict?
The professional services firm predicted that the top 20 richest clubs in the world will lose out on over €2 billion by the end of the current season.
This revenue decline — 12 per cent — is largely due to the impact of COVID-19 on clubs’ finances with most around Europe set to play over a season of football without fans in stadiums.
What else did Agnelli say?
The 45-year-old also spoke favourably about the ‘Swiss system’ — a possible alternative to the current Champions League format that would see more games played between Europe’s elite clubs.
The Swiss system would have all 32 or 36 qualifying clubs in a single division, where each would play 10 matches against teams of varying strength according to seeding. The top 16 would qualify for the knockouts, where ties would be played much the same way as American playoffs — first would play 16th, second would play 15th and so on.
Agnelli cited the 1826 games played in Europe’s top five leagues compared to only 125 played in the Champions League as a flaw in the current system that means clubs are not maximising their potential revenue streams.
He also noted that the “great” Swiss system would help reignite interest in football and keep the sport ahead of its competitors.
(Photo: Daniele Badolato – Juventus FC/Juventus FC via Getty Images)
