To his life partner the legacy of a club without a euro of debt: «Is the future purple? She will decide.” The arrival of Paratici and the possible transfer
«Viola Park? My wife wanted it.” Catherine, Catherine, Catherine. Rocco Commisso never missed an opportunity to mention her, to make the world understand how important she was to him. And not just as a life partner a few years younger than him and known when they were just kids. Now that her beloved Rocco is no longer with us, she will be the one to choose the future for Viola: “I’m not selling Fiorentina”the patron himself had made known at the end of 2025, despite the rumors surrounding his health, the team’s disastrous ranking, the city’s protests and his absence from Florence which had lasted since last spring.
Things could change now, also because the fresh announcement of Fabio Paratici as sporting director of the revolution widens the circle of international contacts. We’ll know soon. What is certain is that Fiorentina’s communication strategy had changed in recent weeks: «My wife Catherine and I follow the team step by step», the president himself reiterated. «President Commisso and his wife Catherine telephoned Vanoli and the team to congratulate», wrote Fiorentina itself after the team’s latest results (victory against Cremonese, draws with Lazio and Milan).
A way to put her, the owner’s soulmate, more and more at the center of everything. in a sort of passing of the baton which, at least for the immediate present, must not create shocks within the club.
They had just celebrated 50 years of marriage, Rocco and Catherine. Always at her husband’s side, Italian-American like him (her family is Calabrian and originally from Roccella Jonica, a town a stone’s throw from Marina di Gioiosa), silent but omnipresent, Mrs. Commisso has been responsible for the construction of Viola Park in recent years (even the oil produced in Bagno a Ripoli is called «Caterina»), of the relations with the Municipality of Florence on the issue of the renovation of the Franchi stadium, of diplomacy (with Sara Funaro she was photographed in Piazza Duomo on the occasion of the Explosion of the Easter Cart, an episode that makes it clear how much there is in wanting to lower the tone towards the institutions after the cold war with the former mayor Nardella), but also of the club at 360°, including relations with managers, footballers and kids from the youth sector.
On the Fiorentina board of directors there is also Joseph, one of the couple’s sons (daughter Marisa has always remained aloof from purple things), but as mentioned Catherine is now in the saddle and “she will decide the future”, as Rocco often confided to his faithful.
From Rocco he inherits a Fiorentina with their accounts in orderwithout a euro of debt to the banks despite the maxi (and unsuccessful) summer investments on the market and with an important asset (waiting for the aforementioned agreement on the management of the stadium) as the largest sports center in Italy. In June 2019, Commisso paid a sum of around 160 million to buy Fiorentina from the Della Valles, to which add the 130 spent to build the Viola Park, the 25 (per year) of the Mediacom sponsorship and the annual recapitalizations made before closing the various financial statements.
The estimate spoke of a club with a total value of 350-400 million, now, however, the figures could drop, especially if the president’s death were to accelerate the family’s farewell to Fiorentina: the team poised between A and B and the uncertainty over the concession in the new Franchi (with the mayor there is always the famous 55 million at stake to redevelop the stadium and obtain a 50-year concession for the facility) could curb the enthusiasm of those interested.
In the meantime there is a team to save and a return round to face, chasing away the fears of these dark months. They will be the trusted CEO Alessandro Ferrari – the man who in every way replaced the late Joe Barone (who passed away suddenly in March 2024) as the president’s right-hand man – and the CEO. and accountant also at Mediacom Mark Stephan (not surprisingly increasingly present in Florence in these months of Commisso’s illness) to manage the club from Italy on behalf of the owners. Rocco called a thousand times a day, and never mind if his health wasn’t what it used to be. Catherine has a different character but no less determination: time will tell how she will choose to manage Fiorentina.
In February, as mentioned, Paratici will also arrive to support Roberto Goretti on the transfer market and in the management of the team, but she, Mrs. Catherine, will make the final choices about the future: hold on as her husband would have wanted and chase success (just a touch, with those three cup finals lost) also in the beloved Italy of football, or pass the buck and avoid the burdens and honors of having to manage a football team on the other side of the ocean.
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