Parma are a club that's in a lot of financial trouble, with debts spiraling over €90 million by some reports. Some €25 million of that is in wages that haven't been paid all season long, leading to the departure of several disgruntled players who were tired of waiting for ownership to get its act together.
Parma look to beat administration deadline
Parma’s new ownership is working to settle some €25 million in unpaid wages with players and staff ahead of a midnight deadline to avoid having the club put into administration.
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The Italian club has new owners again, though, after the foreign investors who bought Parma several months ago -- and were subsequently hurt by the oil and gas market crash -- sold it to a group of Italian-led businessmen serious about saving the club last week. Parma are facing a deadline Monday night to pay off that entire outstanding wage bill or enter administration, something no fan wants to see happen to their club.
Fortunately, new club president Giampiero Manenti seems very confident that things will be settled in plenty of time to avoid that danger. "We can't be calm until it's done, but all principle agreements have been made," the Italian told RadioParma earlier. "We have complied and we are waiting for the final OK [from the FIGC]."
The FIGC, Italian football’s governing body, still has to sign off on the deal after payments are made and have gone through, which could still be some hours away. Damiano Tommasi, president of the Italian players’ association, didn’t seem terribly optimistic that everything would go smoothly with the process, but if nothing else, at least these owners seem to be making far more of an effort to keep the team afloat and intact than the last set did.
Unfortunately, these efforts will almost certainly not be enough to keep Parma in Serie A -- the club has already been assessed one point deduction for unpaid wages and will almost certainly be given another, making the possibility of climbing out of a deep hole at the bottom of the table even less likely. At least the club should be in much better financial shape for its Serie B campaign next season. That factor alone could mean it won’t be long before we see Parma in Italy’s top division again.
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