The future of Inter doesn't look good, and it was already understood from the circumstances of the farewell of the coach Antonio Conte. Despite a triumphant 2021 with the victory of the Scudetto and despite the 260 million bridge loan guaranteed by the Oaktree fund, the club owned by the Chinese group Suning continues to navigate in murky waters. Meanwhile, the maxi loan obtained (which must be repaid within three years) certainly gives a shot in the arm to the accounts and guarantees the payment of at least salaries, bonuses and management costs, but in return 30% of the amount will end up in the hands to the creditor bank Lion Rock and in any case there would be nothing left for the market, which would thus be self-financed. With what money?
It is not known, and the premises are far from rosy given that Suning Group stock was suspended on China's Shenzhen Stock Exchange and above all the 5,8% of the capital in the hands of the Zhang family, which has owned 2016% of Inter since 70, was frozen after the shares fell by 15% in the session of Tuesday 10 June, the all-time record in a single session on the Shenzhen index. The decision was made after a Beijing Court ordered the freezing of more than a quarter of founder Zhang Jindong's shares. Suning is therefore in serious financial difficulties (the stock has lost almost 30% since the beginning of the year) and is causing considerable concern to the authorities and investors of his country, who keep the conglomerate to which it belongs, together with the real estate group, under very close observation. Evergrande and asset management Huarong.
If from Italy the story of Suning is of interest almost only from a football point of view, for China instead it is a real time bomb: the Zhangs, who have been receiving billions of dollars in state subsidies for years, are also owners of the supermarket chain Carrefour in China and also hold a stake in e-commerce giant Alibaba. According to S&P, the company's debt totaled more than $6,6 billion at the end of the third quarter of last year, with about two-thirds in short-term bonds. Covid has made things worse, because online business hasn't given the desired results and Suning, which started out as a trader in household appliances, has paid dearly for the drop in sales in physical stores.
Returning to more profane questions, what does all this mean for Inter? A downsizing of the project had already been largely taken into account, so much so that it is precisely for that reason that Conte said goodbye and that the club fell back on a young and less demanding coach, Simone Inzaghi. It is no coincidence that so far he has only asked for two of his low cost loyalists on the market: the veteran Stefan Radu and the striker who was on the bench at Lazio Felipe Caicedo. The first would be free on a free transfer, while for the second a few million euros would in theory be enough, even if the biancoceleste president Claudio Lotito is stubborn and out of spite could deny the reunification of the two with the former coach.
As if that weren't enough, she fell on Inter also the tile of the main sponsor, the one that appears on the game jerseys: the contract with Pirelli expires on 30 June after a partnership that lasted 26 years. And barring last-minute surprises, it will not be renewed. The new sponsor should come from the Arab countries, with a commitment that Inter would like to close for no less than 30 million. Useful money, but which will hardly be enough for a top project.
