News Focus
- Adriano Galliani says Italian clubs earn far less money than Spanish and English teams
- He blames old stadiums and the Italian language for poor foreign television deals
- The former Milan chief calls Inter’s 2006 championship a ‘cardboard title’
- Galliani may return to AC Milan as an advisor to the new American owners
- Fabio Capello joined him at the event; both lost Juventus titles in 2006
Adriano Galliani has issued a strong warning about the decline of Italian football. The veteran administrator spoke at a public event alongside former manager Fabio Capello. He painted a bleak picture of Serie A’s current position in world football.
Galliani pointed to a huge gap in finances between Italy’s top clubs and European rivals. He noted that Real Madrid brings in €1.2 billion each year. In contrast, the best Italian sides only manage €400-500 million. This difference hurts their ability to buy top players.
‘We used to win because we had the best players,’ Galliani explained. He reminded listeners that the last Serie A footballer to win the Ballon d’Or was Kaka in 2007. Since then, Italian clubs have fallen behind in the prestige rankings.
The Monza advisor identified two main problems for the league. First, Italian stadiums are old and often half-empty. This looks bad on television and drives down the value of broadcast rights. Second, the Italian language limits global appeal. English and Spanish are spoken worldwide, but Italian is not.
‘Serie A used to be a goal for players. Now it is just a transitional league,’ Galliani stated. He meant that stars use Italy as a stepping stone to bigger leagues rather than a final destination.
The 79-year-old also reopened old wounds from the 2006 Calciopoli scandal. He stood next to Capello, who lost two league titles with Juventus due to the match-fixing affair. Galliani mocked the way the 2006 championship was awarded to Inter Milan.
‘This was the only time in history where those who were third finished first,’ he said. Juventus and AC Milan had originally placed first and second, but both received point deductions. Inter moved up from third place to claim the trophy.
Fans often call this the ‘Cardboard Title’ because it was handed over rather than won on the pitch. Galliani clearly agrees with this view.
Meanwhile, reports suggest Galliani might soon return to AC Milan. American owner Gerry Cardinale allegedly wants him as an extra advisor. This comes as Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Giorgio Furlani may leave their current roles at the club.