Galliani criticises Serie A decline and revives Inter Calciopoli debate
Quick summary
Adriano Galliani said Italian football is falling behind Europe’s elite because of weaker revenues, poor stadium infrastructure and reduced international appeal. He also took a swipe at Inter’s post-Calciopoli title, calling it the only case where a team finishing third ended up first.
Full article
Attributed to original sourceMilan and Monza legend Adriano Galliani outlines the problems with Italian football and takes a sideswipe at Inter’s Calciopoli title. ‘The only time in history where those in third finished first.’
The former CEO spent over three decades by Silvio Berlusconi’s side, first at Milan, then in their next adventure together at Monza.
There are currently reports that he could make a return to San Siro as an additional advisor to Gerry Cardinale and RedBird, as Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Giorgio Furlani could be moving on.
Meanwhile, Galliani was attending an event today and spoke to the reporters about the problems with modern Calcio.
Galliani identifies issues with Calcio CAGLIARI, ITALY – NOVEMBER 26: Adriano Galliani of Monza looks on during the Serie A TIM match between Cagliari Calcio and AC Monza at Sardegna Arena on November 26, 2023 in Cagliari, Italy. (Photo by Enrico Locci/Getty Images) “The clubs that won the Champions League in recent years have double the revenue of the biggest Italian clubs,” Galliani told Calciomercato.
“Real Madrid’s revenue is €1.2 billion, while the best Italian sides can do is €400-500m including profits from player sales.”
There were no Serie A representatives in the semi-finals of the three UEFA competitions, and only Bologna and Fiorentina got into the quarter-finals.
“We used to win because we had the best players. The last Ballon d’Or winner from Serie A was Kaka in 2007,” noted Galliani.
Salvatore Bocchetti signs his Monza contract with Adriano Galliani(acmonza.com) It again comes down to the lack of revenue, so what is causing the huge gap in finances?
“There are a few reasons why Serie A struggles to sell its TV rights abroad. The Premier League is fine because so many around the world speak English, while LaLiga is sold to the Spanish-speaking countries. Nobody really speaks Italian outside of Italy, other than parts of Switzerland,” explained Galliani.
“In order to increase revenue, the first thing we need to work on is the stadiums. A beautiful structure also helps sell TV rights, because when viewers see half-empty arenas that are crumbling, they aren’t interested.
“Serie A used to be something players aimed for, now we are a transitional league.”
There also doesn’t seem to be long between scandals, although Galliani is still not over the Calciopoli earthquake of 2006.
He was standing next to Fabio Capello at the event, the coach who saw two Serie A titles at Juventus stripped from the record.
“Capello won two titles on the field with Juventus. This was the only time in history where those who were third finished first. In Heaven, so the last shall be the first, but on Earth it was the third who became the first.”
Fabio Capello (Photo by Jurij Kodrun/Getty Images) Calciopoli left the 2024-25 title unassigned, but stripped the 2025-26 one from Juventus and handed it to Inter, who had finished third in the regular season.
This is because both Juve and Milan, who were first and second, were docked points in the scandal.
The 2026 Scudetto is often referred to as the ‘Cardboard Title’ because it was handed to Inter in this way.
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What happened
Speaking at a public event, Adriano Galliani argued that Serie A clubs now operate with far less revenue than Europe’s top sides, limiting their ability to attract elite players and compete deep in UEFA tournaments. He pointed to outdated stadiums, weaker foreign TV-rights appeal and the league’s status as a transitional destination rather than a final one. Galliani also revisited the Calciopoli scandal, mocking the title later assigned to Inter after Juventus and Milan were penalised. The piece is mainly a broad commentary on Italian football’s structural problems rather than a report of an immediate sporting development.
Chance analysis
This matters more as background context than as a direct team-news signal. Galliani’s comments reinforce long-running concerns about Serie A’s financial gap and competitive decline, but they do not materially change near-term expectations for any specific match, lineup or player availability.
Likely little immediate effect on team performance or match pricing, beyond a mildly negative backdrop around Serie A’s competitive and financial standing.
Treat this as low-action macro context on Serie A’s structural environment, not as a direct predictive input for short-term football markets.