Il Tempo (Austini): Roma have started their fifth consecutive season without a sponsor on their shirt. It is paradox that continues and is a sad exception – in Serie A this season, only the Giallorossi and Sampdoria are the ones to be in this category. Pallotta is expected in the capital next week but won’t be bringing substantial news with him (in terms of a shirt sponsor). The last (shirt sponsorship) contract was signed by Roma back in June 2010, when the Sensi-owned club extended their relationship with Wind until 2013, for a maximum of €6 million plus another €1 million in the event of qualifying in the Champions League and other various bonuses. Since then, no company has signed with the club, which was purchased by Americans, whom are the best, in theory, in the exploitation of sports brands. However, none of the commercial directors chosen by Pallotta have managed to find a shirt sponsor who are willing to spend the amount Roma are asking. From the German Christoph Winterling and American Sean Barror to Frenchman Laurent Colette, who came from Barcelona, ​​it is now up to Italian Luca Danovaro to lead a mission that seems impossible. Many errors have been committed, all of which have come from the top. There was a wrong initial strategy – Pallotta wanted a unique sponsor for both the shirt and for the naming rights to the stadium – but there was too high of an asking price. Pallotta then decided to look for only a short sponsor considering how long it would take for the stadium to open. Initially, Roma first asked €20 million (per season), now it’s at €15 million but they would be willing to close a deal at €12-13 million to match the deal that Milan has with Emirates, which was chosen as the benchmark.
But despite the fact that Roma in the last few seasons is a superior team on the pitch, there is still a lack of international appeal. A more realistic comparison, instead of Milan, would be Napoli, who carry three shirt sponsors of local companies: Lete, Garofalo and Kimbo, which carries a total of about €8 million per year. Roma refused €7.5 plus bonuses from Turkish Airlines in 2015, who offered a two year agreement. By multiplying this theory over five years, nearly €40 million has been “burnt”. Should this continue, Juve will continue to pull ahead of Roma. Pending the up-to-date figures, in the financial statements closed on 30 June, 2016, Juve accounted for €83.5 million commercial revenue, while Roma had only €21.1 million.
