Participating via video conference at the fringe of the 2024 Sports Festival, Beppe Marotta took part this afternoon in the discussion devoted to the general states of Italian football. Alongside other top managers from Serie A like Paolo Scaroni, Claudio Lotito, Luca Percassi, Mirwan Suwarso, Claudio Fenucci, and Urbano Cairo, the president of Inter spoke about the issues and future prospects of football.

Following are the words with which Marotta, in a particularly critical monologue, particularly aimed at politics and his vision for Italian football:

STADIUM – We need to work on this asset: it is important for achieving sporting results and then it must be profitable from a ticket sales point of view. The modern stadium must not be a cathedral in the desert where you go to watch a game every 15 days, but it should be a place visited every day. Last year we collected 80 million euros in this situation, imagine in a modern stadium.

RELATIONSHIP WITH POLITICS – We must consider football in Italy as a significant social phenomenon and we should be listened to. I miss the political class in not treating us as we would deserve. We are not here to ask for money, but we are asking for a legislative system that recognizes football as a different phenomenon. I think there are three resources available.

COMPETITIVENESS – The first resource concerns the issue of competitiveness, we like Milan have increased revenues in recent years, but two years ago only from the Champions League we collected about 100 million. When you are not competing in the Champions League, you lose a lot.

STADIUM APPRECIATION – The second is the appreciation of an important asset like the stadium. We have been the tail light in Europe for decades, this is due to a bureaucracy that leads to slowness and distrust. In my view, it should be the responsibility of the Ministry of Infrastructure.

COMMERCIAL – Third, commercial appreciation goes hand in hand with that of the stadium. We find ourselves in front of a system that does not respect us. Considering today a footballer still as a subordinate worker, I think of my experience at Juventus with Cristiano Ronaldo who earned 60 million gross, I think there are no other employees who earn as much. The footballer should be classified differently, this is the biggest cost for the club, not management ones. Indeed, I would increase management costs, I think of sports centers, we notice that there are major shortages.

DECREES – Our reference point in the Senate is Claudio Lotito. I dont understand why football should be exempt from the Growth Decree. There are many managers who come from abroad and have tax incentives. Then there are footballers and coaches who can grow our movement and are penalized. Or the Dignity Decree, I refer to betting. These issues would bring hundreds and hundreds of millions into the clubs coffers.

COST MANAGEMENT – The highest costs are represented by salaries, but for the teams that go to Europe either you are a phenomenon and lower the wage bill, or you are not able to participate in that distribution of revenue that guarantees you stability.