Fiorentina-Inter, Commisso and the controversy: from salaries to the budget

The relationship between Rocco Commisso and Inter is a bit of a quarrel. The last year and a half, especially the second half of 2021, has been full of polemical or poisonous comments from the owner of Fiorentina towards the Nerazzurri club. Above all, economic issues held the ground, but in general the climate between the two companies gradually became charged with tension. Undoubtedly the point of contact between all the controversies of the purple president is the comparison between his virtuous management and those – to say of him – more “generous” of the competition in the Italian championship. The skirmishes of the Franks with the accusations of violent behavior, the denials and the requests for an apology, are therefore only the last carriage of a train tens of meters long.

The controversy

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The plot can be traced in each of the episodes that can be re-emerged from the recent past, the memories that can be “unlocked” from the archives. Take the words of Commisso of 19 September 2021, which appear to be a manifesto of the president’s attacks on the big names in Serie A: “My Fiorentina is in order, Juventus and Inter are not”. It is in fact important to remember that the Nerazzurri are only one of the many targets of the Italian-American patron. “The rules in Italian football must be more transparent – he explained on the radio -, we are debt-free and I bring money to Italy every six months to re-enter the liquidity index”. And then away with recurring terms: “It’s not good, there is a sense of falsity in this football. There must be transparency in the accounts. Instead, from that I read the rules have not been respected by Juventus who have 200 million losses, others 150. Yet I do not know that they have had any penalties in the standings or on the market – remarked the president of the viola club -. We pay everything, we have no debts. We must have a transparent league where everyone is treated equally and with equal rules for everyone”.

second round

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A couple of weeks later, the doubling in the wake of Inter’s record loss: “The pandemic hit everyone, then every club had its own problems. For our part, I keep promising that we will never go bankrupt here and when we do. we need money we will bring them to move forward. This was not done by everyone, the checks on some parameters such as liquidity ratios did not work and at the end of last season many companies were not online. This is not fair. ” . In the outburst of October 1, 2022, the allusion also arrives: “There are companies without debts that then lose on the pitch and go to Serie B, like Parma. And others that are not within the rules, but nothing happens and I don’t think this is right. There must be penalties and things must change. The laws must be above all and equal for all “. Yet another quote from Commisso, two weeks later: “Every six months we have to provide data on the liquidity report. Fiorentina did it, other clubs didn’t. There were some teams far from meeting the necessary requirements, one of them won the championship (Inter, ndr) and had to sell Lukaku and Hakimi to rectify the liquidity ratio. Anyone who does not respect the rules should pay the consequences and be penalized in the league. “

The reactions

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How did Inter respond to these more or less disguised attacks? The line has always been very similar: the managers who had been asked for comments almost never entered into the merits of the controversy, dismissing the cues with clear and short sentences, often “no comments”. For example, the CEO had replied to the first quotation mark. Alessandro Antonello: “I say that everyone in their own home should try to understand how to manage their own club. Inter have always respected the rules. This is not the time for controversy, we must remain united because it is time for Italian football and European is very difficult “. After the pandemic, all the coffers of the clubs have been stressed by the economic crisis and it is precisely with these assumptions that economic issues are back strongly topical. On the other hand, there was no answer from the sporting director Piero Ausilio with the grip of the different role compared to Commisso, while on the capital gains case the request from the purple transparency patron, last December it was Giuseppe Marotta’s turn to manage the grain: “As Inter we are used to debating in the institutional offices, the Federation and the League. The principle of transparency must be inherent in every football organization “.