Green light to Radrizzani
Most of it is done, but before toasting the avoided bankruptcy and the opening of a cycle which, even if starting from B, can bring Sampdoria back to the stage it deserves, we need to have a little more patience. After Massimo Ferrero stepped aside and accepted the offer came from Andrea Radrizzani and his business partner Matteo Manfredi there are other important deadlines to meet in order not to fall back into chaos. The first concerns the presentation of the debt restructuring plan by 12 June because on the 20th the company must comply with guarantees and payments for registration in the Serie B championship.
From this point of view optimism transpires. The positive news concerns the dialogue started with the club’s small-medium creditors: a repayment of 70% of the credit is at stake. And the extension granted by the Court of Genoa: for another 120 days Samp remains armored. Practically, until September no creditor will be able to file for bankruptcy of the Sampdoria club. Evidently the judges considered it essential to allow more time to guarantee the success of the negotiated settlement and allow the approval of the restructuring agreement with the creditors and the revenue agency.
Race against time
Sampdoria fans can refuse, but in any case it is a race against time because there are still steps to take to sign up for the Serie B championship by the 20th and get the green light from the FIGC. THESampdoria’s total debt is close to 200 million eurosbut if the agreement with the banks (the red light with the credit institutions is around 50 million euros) seems practically a done deal, it will be a little less simple to have the go-ahead from the various suppliers or the players’ agents to which overall would be worth no less than 40 million euros.
Leeds stadium
In all this scenario the continuous voices arriving from England are intertwined. According to the site The AthleticIndeed, Radrizzani (who also has the majority of Leeds United) would have given Elland Road, Leeds’ stadium, as bank guarantee for the 30 million euro loan to buy Sampdoria. The stadium would therefore have been given as a pledge to Banca Sistema (one of the most exposed credit institutions with Sampdoria) in order to carry out the capital increase. According to the agreements, he adds The Athletic the loan would be repaid within two years with annual interest between 6 and 9%, but in the agreement there is also the possibility that the maturity could be extended up to ten years from the signing. All this would be intertwined with the possible sale of Leeds to 49ers Enterprises, a minority shareholder of the club, which would not have been made aware of this operation.