Crippling €197m debt forces Parma into bankruptcy and uncertain future

Parma fans

March 20 – Italian crisis club Parma have hit rock bottom after being declared bankrupt by a court in Italy but should be allowed to see out the current season.

The cash-strapped Serie A club, whose players have not been paid all season amid debts of €197.4 million, were loaned €5 million recently by the division’s other teams to stay afloat but their top-flight status seems doomed.

Giampietro Manenti promised to clear the debts when he took over as chairman last month but he was one of 22 people arrested on Wednesday on charges including embezzlement and money laundering.

The once proud two-time UEFA Cup winners have changed ownership twice this season and have already been hit with a three-point deduction and forced to postpone two matches. They are 16 points adrift of safety at the bottom of the league.

The Italian league has said previously that if the club was unable to fulfil its remaining fixtures, all future results would all be recorded as 3-0 wins to the opposition.

Parma seem likely to restart in Serie B under new owners provided they have cleared sporting debts. But if no takeover happens, they will be demoted to Italy’s fourth tier under a different name.

Parma’s best days came in the 1990s when they won two UEFA Cups and one Cup Winners’ Cup and were Serie A runners-up in 1997. How are the mighty fallen.

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