Baldissoni sets record straight on club's operating approach

Club managing director Mauro Baldissoni gave an interview on Wednesday, where he set the record straight on a number of matters: including the club's financial situation, operating approach, and the hopes for the new stadium and expanded revenue streams.

Read everything Baldissoni had to say below.

Baldissoni on... Financial Fair Play

"Clubs haven’t been free to act according to their own strategies for some years now. They have to adhere to Financial Fair Play regulations, which were initially devised by UEFA and have now been adopted by the Italian league. This places restrictions on how we can operate in the transfer market because clubs have to balance the books. Costs have to correspond to revenue.

"People often say that Roma need money, but no: fortunately Roma don’t need money because the club’s owners are financially solid – they’ve injected €98 million over the last 15 months. Just look at our financial books, which are available to the public. And that doesn’t even take into account the money put in before the share capital increase in 2014, which saw another €100 million come in. However, capital injections from the owners are not used in calculations against losses when it comes to FFP.

"Roma failed to qualify for the Champions League last year. The squad was an expensive one that had been put together to compete at a specific level. However, the club’s owners continued to invest the necessary funds to allow us to continue dealing with our elevated costs, but unfortunately all of that is not taken into account for Financial Fair Play. FFP was originally brought in after Manchestery City and PSG were bought by state-backed owners, to stop super-rich owners from having infinite spending power and ruining the competition. That’s why contributions from owners don’t count.

"We have an ongoing dialogue with UEFA and we are confident with the progress we’ve made so far. When we reached our settlement agreement a couple of years ago, we expressed our will to respect FFP without trying any tricks or short-cuts. Thus far, we’ve shown we can do that. In the three years under analysis, we have missed only one of the four parameters taken into account, and only in the last year. As a result, we are confident that given the satisfaction UEFA have shown with our management approach thus far, they will allow us to continue operating in this way without specific sanctions."

Baldissoni on... the transfer market

"It is 31 January and Roma have only sold one player and that was yesterday. That shows that the club was by no means desperate to sell players. We need to transform our requirements into opportunities, as we have done in recent years. When the new owners bought the club, we had losses of €58 million and a playing staff worth €38 million. Roma were sanctioned by UEFA, despite the fact that the owners had only come in recently, because losses are calculated over multiple years.

"We had two choices. The first was to cut operating costs to increase revenue, which would have set us back by ten years. The second was the one we chose: to continue to invest, keeping costs high and cutting the gap between costs and revenues through capital gains, which allowed us to balance the books. By adopting this approach, Roma were able to stay competitive year after year – we’ve been in the Champions League three times in the past four seasons.

"If an unexpected offer for a player like [Edin] Dzeko comes in, we have to see whether it is appropriate or not. If Roma had needed to sell Dzeko, we would have done. Instead, the club maintained a clear position and stuck to its demands. We didn’t panic and we didn’t try to accelerate the negotiations. Edin is a top player and we’re happy that he has stayed.

"Player salaries account for 80% of our running costs. That shows that our project is focused on sport, not financial ratings. We have the second-highest running costs of any team in Serie A, despite only being fourth or fifth in terms of revenues. Sales are necessary to ensure the team remains competitive – they are influenced by international regulations and they are a necessity. The team has finished second, second, third and second in recent years, so thus far we’ve achieved our objective of being competitive.

"At this club, money is not only spent on investing in new players, but also to finance very expensive contract extensions. Since last summer, Roma have extended the contracts of [Kevin] Strootman, [Radja] Nainggolan and [Kostas] Manolas. That shows that we continue to believe in the competitiveness of this team and in the high-profile players that we have. Unfortunately, sometimes we have to address the gap between costs and revenues through player sales, which are always seen as an opportunity to invest and improve."

Baldissoni on... the season so far

"When you’re not getting the results on the pitch, it’s clear that you need to improve. This team showed that it was as competitive as we expected until the first week of December, when we won a very tough Champions League group and were just behind the league leaders with a game in hand. However, from mid-December onwards, neither the results nor the performances have lived up to the fans’ expectations. There is work to do on that. The fans’ disappointment is justified. We perfectly understand their frustrations and can’t blame them.

"We haven’t weakened ourselves. We’ve sold Emerson Palmieri, who hadn’t played a single minute in the league so far this season, and we’re replacing him with a guy who has been playing in the Champions League and has played in the final of the Copa Libertadores.

"It would be a big mistake to talk about the team being distracted by the Dzeko affair. That would be making an excuse for the team, which is made up of international-standard professionals. It would insult their professionalism. The poor performances started in mid-December, so it’s impossible to link them to the Dzeko negotiations.

"This team dropped off on a mental level, their determination took a hit and they started playing with less confidence and more fear. A good demonstration of that is the San Siro game, in which we dominated for long stretched but ended up conceding late on. When a team is on edge, they inevitably end up having a hard time of things. It's something we're looking at and trying to find a solution for.

"To date we haven't been competitive enough to win a trophy, which means we all have to work harder: the playing and coaching staff, the directors and the club as a whole. We must have the strength and determination to fight for silverware. Otherwise, we’ll just continue to lay good foundations which eventually turn to failures and then spill over into frustration and anger – all of which decreases our chances of achieving success.

Baldissoni on... the stadium and sponsorship

"Sponsors are an important factor. Revenue streams are well-defined in the world of football: you have television rights, ticket sales and then the commercial stream, which is mainly about sponsorship revenues. Sponsors are only one part of commercial revenues, but they are the biggest one. When it comes to multi-year contracts, you have to be willing to accept an offer. In 2013, we received one that was less than half those of our main competitors in Italy, which would have continued to stunt the growth of our brand. That’s why we’ve rejected offers that we’ve deemed too low to allow the Roma brand to grow and reach the level of our competitors.

"There are a number of factors that illustrate this, such as our initiatives in the world of digital media, which are among the best in the world. We are expecting good news soon so that we can announce partnerships with global brands involving sums comparable to those received by our competitors. Multi-year contracts need to provide a boost, not clip our wings.

"In terms of the stadium, which is a real game changer and something our owners believe in very strongly, we have often referred to other facilities such as the Emirates or the Allianz Arena. However, the simplest example is Juventus’ stadium, which has seen them increase revenues by 175% year on year. Just think of the kind of boost the new facility will bring. The stadium requires huge investment of €800 million, of which €200 million is coming from private investment. This will allow us to increase our revenue and make running costs more sustainable on the sporting side of things.

"We will be able to maintain and increase our competitiveness and aim for better and better results. I laugh when I hear people say that [James] Pallotta wants to build the stadium for personal gain. It’s clear that such a big investment will supply Roma with an injection of revenue that we just wouldn’t be able to achieve through organic growth, even with the shirt sponsor that may be announced soon."