Go ahead, but with caution. After the initial flare of Lazio +4% e Rome, even +8%, the Capitoline clubs slow down the race that started after the news of the Ok of the Serie A League to the sale of 10% of the media company created to manage and commercialize the television rights of Serie A. Prudence, moreover, is a must. Even if the operation, after a long ordeal, was unanimously approved from an economic and financial point of view by the assembly of presidents, there is still no binding commitment on the part of the owners of the system, usually divided and more quarrelsome than the parliamentarians of the Polish Diet in the 700th century, especially when it comes to sharing money, a very rare commodity in the sector, choked by the pandemic that has exploded debts up to the monstrous figure of 800 million.
In this frame the 1,7 billion euro check that the investment funds CVC, Advent, Fs are said to be ready to pay represents more than a shot in the arm. Suffice it to say, to understand the situation of the system, that three companies managed to pay their June salaries only last Monday, on the last possible day. But the climate of emergency also helps to ignite spirits, now that it is a matter of defining the division of the money.
Barring new agreements, the offer includes the disbursement of the sum in six tranches between now and 2026, when the Funds will be able to decide whether to exit (the 10% buy-back option for Serie A). Small teams sign up for greater immediate distribution. The League, on the other hand, proposes a long-range distribution, over 7-10 years, in order to also reward those who rise from Serie B (and at the same time studying solutions to integrate the figure, anticipating everyone, for example, with the parachute for relegation, so as to immediately guarantee 15-16 million in liquidity).
From here to the signing, expected in a couple of months, there will be a way to define the operation in detail before proceeding with the sale of the TV rights for the three-year period 2021-2024. But even before defining the governance which provides for a significant role of the funds which, in addition to representation on the board, will involve the appointment of the managing director, a revolutionary novelty for the system's structures.
A structure on the model of Formula 1, with the mission of doubling revenues, which is not impossible for CVC Partners, the British fund which in 2006 bought the financial and commercial rights of Formula 1 for 2,1 billion dollars and then sold them in 2017 to Liberty Media for over 4 billion. But the challenge in football promises to be even hotter. A few weeks ago Juventus, the first club in Europe, signed an agreement to debut its content on the Amazon platform.
