Presenter on Radio Sportiva, on RAI with 90° Minuto and Calcio Totale, he is a columnist and market man for Tuttomercatoweb
Italian champions, last year finalists in the Champions League and yet “with the club’s stability at risk”. Steven Zhang’s Inter paradox, at least for the next forty-eight hours, it’s all in the statement released yesterday by the current number one of the Nerazzurri club. Let’s first talk about the state of the art of things, before talking about future scenarios: three years ago Zhang took out a 275 million loan from the American Oaktree fund to which 100% of accrued interest must be added. Three days after the return of the same, he has not clarified to the American fund how he intends to return it. He opened negotiations with another US fund, Pimco, from which he asked for over 400 million euros to cover the debt and as a ‘life jacket’ for those that he would have burned in the event of accounts with a further minus sign in front. Pimco said yes, Oaktree said no because it interpreted this move as the sole intention of postponing the repayment of the loan (with interest ranging from 12 to 20%) without a concrete buyer who could guarantee the entire repayment of the amount .
Seventy-two hours and the Zhang era ends
Fun fact: three years later, Zhang also has one more day to find the money to return to Oaktree. Monday 20th May, the day of the deadline, is a holiday in Luxembourg (home of the vehicle used for the acquisition of the club) and for this reason Zhang will have until Tuesday 21st. If he finds the money, unlikely given the timing, then he will be able to keep the Inter. Otherwise, Oaktree may begin the process to enforce the pledge. Could there be room for an extension of time? Technically yes, but the very harsh statement from the Chinese entrepreneur suggests that an amicable agreement is now anything but simple and probable.
Zhang as Yonghong Li. But will Oaktree do like Elliott? What will change?
Repetita iuvant. It is possible, although unlikely and complicated now, that an extension will arrive and that Zhang will find a solution to what for now seems like a dead end. But at the moment the state of the art is clear: Zhang will lose Inter as Yonghong Li did with Milan with Elliott. But what will actually change? PWC, the company in charge of being the auditor, will lead Inter to have the OK to register for the next championship by the end of the month. In October, if Oaktree becomes a new owner, it will have to file a declaration of going concern. A new board of directors will come in with men from the fund but what is filtering through is that the Americans have (and will have) faith in Giuseppe Marotta, Piero Ausilio, Dario Baccin and the entire Nerazzurri scouting department. Which in a self-financed and profoundly economical management, has managed to obtain extraordinary sporting results.
The renovations, the stadium, the future
It is a scenario which, as mentioned, does not yet have a point or an end. But it is clear that the situation is clear at the moment. Are contract renewals at risk? At the moment it seems that nothing is at risk: the input that the company has is to return 50-60 million euros with a positive sign on the balance sheet. This is why Denzel Dumfries is the first suspect to leave. Will there be another big player leaving? There are no clues at the moment, should a heavy offer arrive for Alessandro Bastoni, however the club could reflect on it. However, the state of the art regarding the renewals of Lautaro Martinez, Nicolò Barella and Simone Inzaghi is the same as a month ago: trust and desire to renew, regardless of who will lead the club. And today, in this moment, it is hard to imagine that he is still Steven Zhang.