The top-5 soccer leagues in Europe took a hit during the pandemic. In addition, reports suggest that Serie A suffered the most significant financial loss at the hands of the pandemic. It was a tough season for the entire football fraternity globally. Fortunately, normalcy has returned in world football, and fans can follow football scores online on Vwin, a top-rated sports site in Asia, and take advantage of great online betting opportunities. Moreover, the return of football will give Italian clubs a chance to recover from last year’s financial losses.
Numbers don’t lie
Financial reports indicate that during the 2019/20 season, the Serie A club’s revenues decreased by 18%. They were ahead of other leagues such as France’s Lige 1, whose revenues decreased by 16%.
The other leagues, such as the English Premier League, suffered a 13% decrease while La Liga took an 8% hit. The German Bundesliga was least affected as its revenues decreased by 4%.
Serie A President Paolo Dal Pino revealed that Serie A had suffered a loss of 1.4 billion USD thanks to the pandemic. As a result, he called for urgent government support to help the league deal with the tough financial times.
Serie A Clubs have a part to play
Serie A clubs can take the prevailing economic challenges as an incentive to make a deep run in European tournaments. This is particularly true for the UEFA Champions League tournament, as the competition allocates the largest amount of money to the participating teams.
Four Italian clubs are participating in the UEFA Champions League. They include Atalanta, AC Milan, Juventus, and Inter Milan. All four teams are doing their best to advance past the tournament’s group stage. The teams are well aware of the financial implications of making it to the knock-out phase, which comes with rewarding financial benefits.
So, how are the Serie A clubs performing?
Inter Milan
Inter Milan is currently third in Group D, and their financial situation is worrying. The club recently reported the most significant loss in Serie A history. They recorded a loss of 245 million USD. They made this announcement weeks after Juventus reported losses of 210 million Euros.
They are third in a group where Sheriff, a Moldovan club, is leading. The club has made 4.4 million USD already in the tournament. Moreover, qualifying for the knock-out stage would earn them 11.2 million USD.
Juventus
The Turin club is better placed to qualify for the next round. They are top of Group H with 9 points and have bagged 10 million USD. Moreover, they have the ammunition to go further into the tournament and make more money.
For instance, if they advance to the quarter-finals, they will have a share of the 14.6 million USD. If they make it to the semis, they can also get a share of the 18.1 million USD, and if they win it, they will take home the 5.2 million prize money.
AC Milan
AC Milan has zero UEFA Champions League points. They are least likely to advance to the next phase of the competition. The fact that they have no point means they haven’t earned anything in the group stage so far.
Atalanta
Atalanta has remained financially healthy during the pandemic. They have also performed well in the Champions League as they sit second in Group F. The group is open, and they have a real chance of qualifying for the next round as United is having challenges on and off the pitch.
