Amanda Staveley has really managed to annoy those in charge of Serie A.
Last week, the Newcastle United investor dismissed the idea of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund still being interested in Inter Milan. She explained that the opportunity of investing in Italian football had been researched, but insinuated the management of Serie A is something of ‘a mess’.
That hasn’t gone down very well, and earlier today we covered comments from Luigi De Siervo, Serie A’s CEO, who suggested the comments were motivated by ‘sour grapes’.
Now it’s the turn of Paolo Dal Pino, president of Serie A, who is clearly also irritated by the comments. He’s quoted by SportMediaSet as saying: “If she has preferred to invest in Newcastle over Inter or Milan, we see that she likes small cars and not Formula 1 cars.”
Dal Pino continued: “I would prefer to have 90% of something that will be worth €30bn in a few years, compared to 100% of something that is worth 17 and maybe less in a few years.
“Serie A is made up of many brilliant entrepreneurs with a majority that wants ideas and changes. We see that it is a great opportunity because it has unexpressed potential like no other league.”
Staveley has clearly touched a Serie A nerve, even if what she said probably holds some truth and has been mentioned repeatedly in Italy. It’s abundantly clear those in charge of the league don’t like outsiders talking them down, and especially when those outsiders are the new-rich of the Premier League.
Newcastle United may still be a small car compared to the likes of the Milan clubs, but they’ve got a fancy new engine.
