Inter Milan competed in the semi-finals of the Champions League without a shirt sponsor, the club waited in vain for money from their crypto sponsor – and they are not alone.
The cryptocurrency “Digitalbits” had been written on the chest of Inter’s jersey since the beginning of the season, and the contract was signed with the financial technology company “Zytara”. For Inter, the deal should bring in the proud amount of 85 million euros by 2026 for Serie A conditions. “Digitalbits” was ranked by Inter “official worldwide cryptocurrency” of the club, “Zytara” became the “official digital banking partner”.
In fan shops and in the stadium it should also be possible to pay with “digital bits”, Inter’s managing director Alessandro Antonello announced enthusiastically in 2021 when the cryptocurrency had initially become a sleeve sponsor: “By leveraging Zytara’s blockchain technology, we can expand our global reach to younger and digitally savvy audiences.” But now the digital dream wedding is in divorce.
Cryptocurrency on the jersey, no euros on the account
The company for cryptocurrencies failed to transfer the sponsorship with agreed sums in real money, according to the Italian media not even the first installment of the promised 85 million euros arrived. On Wednesday (05/10/2023) Inter played without the “Digitalbits” logo in the Champions League against AC Milan, as they had done in several Serie A games before. “Digitalbits” denied responsibility and announced that ” Zytara” is the contractual partner.
Inter Milan’s Federico Dimarco still with “digital bits” on his shirt
The cryptocurrency “Digitalbits” peaked in November 2021, but the crash of the crypto industry followed. On the day of the first leg in the semi-finals of the Champions League between Milan and Inter, the value was US$ 0.00079, around 0.1 percent of what it was in November 2021. The sponsor’s default will now be difficult for Inter to process.
Because the numbers from Inter were also problematic recently. In 2022 the club reported a loss of 140 million euros, in 2021 it was 246 million euros. The 31-year-old Chinese President Steven Zhang had to inject additional money through his Sunning Group, which owns the majority of Inter Milan club.
AS Roma fell for the same sponsor
In addition to Inter Milan, AS Roma has a very similar damage. “Digitalbits” was also written on the jerseys of the Romans. Because there was no real cash receipt from the alleged sponsor, AS Roma also removed the lettering and finally ran with the letters “SPQR”, the national emblem of ancient Rome, on the chest.
AS Roma’s Lorenzo Pellegrini with the ‘SPQR’ lettering
The Romans also announced the alleged 40 million heavy cooperation as “the future of football” an, die “will be an experience like no other”. The contracts are now financially worthless for both clubs and publicly a disgrace.
Both clubs need new main sponsors
Both clubs now have to assume that the obligations of “Digitalbits” and/or “Zytara” will no longer be met and are looking for alternatives. The Italian newspaper “Tuttosport” reported that Inter is now talking about “Qatar Airways”.