On the day of the shareholders’ meeting of Inter the news of the contract renewal of Lautaro Martinez arrives and, at the other extreme, the club collects the protest of the CGIL for the imminent dismissal of three warehouse workers serving in Appiano Gentile. The Argentine number 10 has signed a new agreement until 2026 with a salary of 6 million net per season plus bonuses, the last step in the negotiations that have already led to a de facto white smoke at the beginning of September.
An eloquent banner appeared under the Nerazzurri headquarters: “Dear Zhang, the employees don’t touch each other.” The slogan photographs the protest of the CGIL for the probable dismissal, from 1 November (until the end of the month the block is in force by law), of three warehouse workers who have been working for many years in Appiano Gentile. Effect of Inter’s decision to outsource this activity to an external cooperative. “The company inexplicably confirmed that it wants to close the three employment relationships” despite the union’s alternative proposals, “such as redemption in other duties”, explains the note from the CGIL.
Shortly after, the assembly took place, with President Steven Zhang connected by video-conference from Nanjing. The meeting approved the budget with a massive loss of 245.6 million (a negative record for an Italian club). To cushion the effects, a revaluation of the brand and the historic bookshop was decided for a good 212.1 million. It is a possibility offered by the decree law issued by the government in 2020 to help companies in the emergency of the pandemic. Udinese has already used it among football clubs. Inter will now have five years to effectively inject capital to compensate for the losses of the last financial year.
The ‘red’ was born from the explosion of costs up to 568.7 million, 124.8 more than the previous budget. There has been an increase in the amount of wages of around 60 million. The severance pay of Antonio Conte and his technical staff accounted for 14.3 million. The devaluation of the value of the players’ pool has weighed following the resolutions of Nainggolan and Joao Mario which resulted in losses of 8.5 and 7.2 million respectively. And the acknowledgment that the agreed fees for some sponsorships would no longer arrive from China, which at this point were put on the passive, had an impact for 40 million. Even the sponsorship of Suning for Pinetina must pay for this situation, going from 16 to 10 million.
Despite this situation, which certifies Suning’s profound difficulty, Zhang junior reiterates “that the ownership plan, support and commitment are long-term, our vision for the future is clear and defined”. And he dubbed the rumors about a possible sale of Inter as “false and speculative”. But it is not clear with what economic forces Suning can concretely underpin these claims.