WWhat a week for Frankfurt Eintracht! After the 2:1 at Sporting Lissabon, which meant the great Champions League luck for the Hessians, they also forced the small league luck in the 2-1 win in Augsburg and now have the very best prospects for the rest of the season. Nothing can go wrong in the premier class. To the big underdog in the knockout stages, who meets the Italian leaders SSC Napoli thereno one makes any more claims.
But there are another eleven million euros in the jackpot for reaching the quarterfinals and another good 13 million euros for the semifinals. In the Bundesliga, Eintracht just has to stay on the track they found after a few minor detours at the start of the season. If she keeps the point average (23 after 13 matchdays) to the end, she will end up with 60 points, which is usually enough for fourth place and thus the Champions League qualification, but will at least be good enough for the Europa League.
Controlled offensive
Should Eintracht now seize the opportunity by investing heavily in the squad again during the winter break? The money would be there for that. As CFO Oliver Frankenbach explained in an interview with the FAZ, the profit from the Champions League 44 million euros even before the knockout round kicked off.
However, the chief financial officer announced that he would first consolidate finances and only start a controlled offensive. The EUR 78 million loss due to the effects of the corona pandemic was absorbed by borrowing EUR 30 million and reducing equity to EUR 6.5 million.
Financial indicators that are not a basis for a sustainable rise, but form a shaky ground. Therefore, with the profit from the Champions League, Eintracht increases equity in a first step to 21 million debts (the target is around 60 million euros) and reduces debts. There are still a few million left for sporting growth, after all, according to the financial plan, a profit of 15 million euros is emerging at the end of the 2022/23 financial year.
This strategy seems very reasonable. The squad will be strengthened selectively, which is necessary on the left flank, but no new stars will be introduced that could upset the hierarchy and salary structure. This squad, with its unique mentality, deserves everyone’s trust anyway because they have been able to stand up to teams like Leverkusen, Dortmund, Leipzig and Tottenham that are twice as well paid.
