Inter Milan have renewed their sponsorship with Pirelli for a further three seasons, the Nerazzurri have announced. Pirelli have been a partner of the club since 1995 and will now be with them till 2019, with the extension reportedly worth around 10 million euros a season (plus bonuses in case of continental success)

However the 10 million figure is far less than what Pirelli’s previous agreement with Inter was worth (around 13 million euros a season). Part of it could be put down to Inter’s lack of success, both domestically and in Europe, in the last few seasons. Sponsors want eyeballs and Inter are currently not very prominent on the world stage.

The Nerazzurri have been on a downfall since lifting the Champions League in 2010, and were last present in Europe’s premier club competition in the 2011-12 season. In 2013-14, they missed out on European competition altogether, not even making it to the Europa League, following a disastrous ninth place finish in Serie A.

Participating in the group stage of the Champions League is itself worth 12 million euros. As per UEFA’s latest revenue structure, a team that goes on to win the tournament will earn well over 50 million euros in prize money, and this excludes their share of television cash, gate revenue and other commercial aspects.

Inter’s latest statistics show that the club have a staggering debt of 417 million euros. Their revenues have been around the 150-200m euro mark, and those too have been on a downward spiral in the absence of CL money.

Pirelli is run by Marco Tronchetti Provera, a close friend of Inter’s former owner Massimo Moratti. Continue reading →