Conte: Suning Project Is Over

Inter’s 2-1 loss to Juventus stung, but the pain wasn’t over when the referee blew for full-time Tuesday night. Instead, Antonio Conte’s post-game press conference confirmed our fears that the Suning company’s time in charge of Inter is at an end thanks to new Chinese regulations and the coronavirus pandemic’s impact on club finances.

“It is a particular situation, it is useless to hide from it. We had a project in August and it stopped in August.”

Those were a frustrated Conte’s words. The lack of major signings for two windows wasn’t a surprise, but unfortunately, it could be something the Nerazzurri have to get used to. According to reports, the club needs $200/€167 million in “emergency finance” to handle contracts and player payments by the end of the year. Furthermore, the deal with BC Partners may be deteriorating, so Suning is on the hunt for new buyers like the American investment firm Fortress and Emirati-owned Mubadala. No matter what, the next months will be tumultuous ones for Inter and it seems like on the pitch performance is in danger of following the financial aspect if new funds are invested into the club.

Inter can still come out of this on the front foot, but buckle up for the rough patch ahead.