By David Gold
March 28 – American businessman Thomas DiBenedetto, a partner in the group which owns both the Boston Red Sox and Premiership giants Liverpool, is in Italy leading a group aiming to buy 67 per cent of Serie A outfit Roma.
DiBenedetto is in negotiations with Unicredit, who are co-owners of the club along with the Sensi family who had run the club since 1993.
“My dream is exactly the same as millions of fans, to make Roma one of the top clubs in the world, a squad capable of winning [Serie A] every year and capable of finally being competitive in the Champions League,” he announced.
DiBenedetto is prepared to pay €77 million (£67.72 million) for a share in the club.
“Rome is a wonderful city and for us to be able to represent it in the world of sport is a great opportunity,” he continued, before adding that “getting the budget in order and bringing the club under the financial fair play parameters” will be the Giallorossi’s priority.
The club are in serious danger of failing to meet the UEFA financial fair play regulations, which will begin to asses the state of finances of clubs competing in European competitions from 2013-14.
Roma’s financial problems are widely known, with the club possessing a deficit of €40 million (£35.16 million) this year, which could grow further if the club fails to qualify for next season’s Champions League.
That situation seems likely as they currently sit sixth in Serie A and recently parted company with manager Claudio Ranieri after a run of poor results.
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