Andrea Agnelli makes bizarre claim about West Ham financial situation
Andrea Agnelli has been speaking to the Italian press about Juventus’ upcoming season, the failed Super League, and, oddly, West Ham’s finances.
The Juventus chairman claims that because of the pandemic West Ham along with the likes of Barcelona, Inter Milan, and FC Porto, are close to ‘insolvency’ [calciomercato].
Agnelli was and still is a big supporter of the proposed Super League, and he estimates that ’15-20%’ of all clubs in Europe’s top divisions are at risk of folding [Daily Mail].
He said: “15-20% [of clubs] are at risk of insolvency. I think of Barcelona, Inter, West Ham, Porto.”
Are West Ham’s finances really that bad?
Agnelli has said some absolutely bizarre stuff in the past relating to the Super League, so it is no surprise to see him come out and say that clubs like West Ham, who weren’t involved in the Super League, are at risk of going bust [ESPN].
However, if you look at the finances, this doesn’t appear to be the case at all and though the Hammers lost a lot of money in the last financial year, so did a lot of Premier League clubs [The Athletic].
West Ham are apparently going to hand David Moyes a budget of £50m-£60m in this summer transfer window [The West Ham Way 23rd of May]. Would they do it if they were at risk of going bust?
You would have to think not, so Agnelli is probably just trying to say anything to justify the Super League’s continued existence despite only Barcelona, Juventus and Real Madrid remaining committed to it.
Time will tell just how badly the pandemic has impacted West Ham’s finances, but for now, there is probably nothing to worry about, and it is wise to ignore the ramblings from Juventus’ chairman.
In other West Ham news, talkSPORT pundit slams David Sullivan as Declan Rice exit talk intensifies.
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