Inter's record-breaking £211m loss after league title shows Super League motives

Inter Milan won their first Serie A league title in 11 years last season but their problems off the pitch have been confirmed with the club announcing record-breaking financial losses.

The Milanese giants had appeared to be riding the crest of a wave as their talismanic boss Antonio Conte led them to the league title for the first time since Jose Mourinho's 2010 triumph.

Yet the summer saw their financial problems laid bare as Conte walked out on the club following a disagreement regarding the potential for continued spending.

The Nerazzurri confirmed the appointment of Simone Inzaghi from Lazio to replace Conte but several star departures - most notably Romelu Lukaku to Chelsea and wing-back Achraf Hakimi joining Paris Saint-Germain - dampened spirits ahead of the new campaign.

Romelu Lukaku fired Inter to the Serie A title last season before joining Chelsea in a £98million deal ( Image:

Nicolò Campo/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Inter have started their domestic campaign strongly and are unbeaten through their opening six league games, collecting 14 points.

The club's Chinese owners, Suning were a sister company of the owners of Jiangsu Football Club - who won the Chinese Super League title in 2020 but were dissolved earlier this year due to financial problems.

Inter have now announced losses of £211million from last season, despite revenue of £313.4 million being recorded for the financial period.

As per The Athletic, the club's fans had become increasingly frustrated and disillusioned with president Steven Zhang including concern over a £236million loan from Oaktree capital management earlier this year.

Achraf Hakimi starred for Inter before being sold to PSG ( Image:

NurPhoto/PA Images)

The club released a statement on Thursday confirming: "The club swiftly initiated a rebalancing policy with two primary aims: To ensure financial stability and to maintain a competitive team on the field.

"The current season offers signs of recovery: Besides the partial reopening of stadiums, the positive summer transfer campaign and the signing of new global sponsorship contracts bear witness to the Inter brand's constantly growing appeal.

"These actions will make it possible to significantly reduce the group's losses."

Suning's problems have seen their share price halved in recent years and it has been forced to sell nearly a quarter of its publicly listed operation to the Chinese state.

The company bought a controlling £230million stake in the Italian giants five years ago and proceeded to buy live TV rights in Italy and China but are now in court with the Premier League over the collapse of a three-year deal to show the division in China.

Antonio Conte left Inter after guiding them to the league title ( Image:

PA)

Inter were one of the 12 clubs to become founding members of the ill-fated European Super League earlier this year - with their uncertain financial position surely a motivating factor behind their initial support of the plans.

Inter's Serie A rivals Juventus posted a notable loss of £179million from last season; the Bianconeri's worrying figures meant that their losses were 134 percent higher than the previous campaign and they also saw their club debt increase by £3.4m from the previous year, now standing at a total of £332m.

As concerning as Juve's figures were, they paled in comparison to those presented by Barcelona - whose economic situation has collapsed in recent years.

Astonishingly, the Catalan giants posted losses of £413.2million for last season - £321m more than that recorded by United.

Cristiano Ronaldo left Juventus amid the club's troubling financial position ( Image:

AFP via Getty Images)

The Blaugrana club president Joan Laporta also revealed that their club debt now stands at an alarming £1.16billion - a rise of £172million from January.

Borussia Dortmund - whose income is heavily dependant on matchday revenue from their loyal fanbase - reported a £62.7million net loss from last season.

The one club who managed to post (an extremely modest) profit last season was Real Madrid, whose overall figures saw them gain £1million.

This was largely due to a significant number of player exits at the club coupled with no signings for the 2020/21 campaign - as their Santiago Bernabeu home stadium underwent significant renovation works.

Earlier this month, Manchester United announced that they had recorded a net loss of £92.2million for the 2020/21 campaign - although £66.6m of this amount is thought to be due to a non-cash tax charge.

This was a significant hit to the club's finances, as they recorded an operating loss of £36.9m - reflecting the hit their income took due to the closure of Old Trafford.

More positively, they announced that their net debt had been reduced from £474m the previous year to £419.1m.