Football
Ben Gladwell, Italy correspondent 9y

Parma president Giampietro Manenti insists players will be paid

Parma president Giampietro Manenti has promised he does have the funds to pay outstanding wages, even if a deadline for the money to hit the players' accounts expired four days ago.

Parma's players have been waiting since July to be paid by the Serie A club and they had warned that, if the money did not arrive by last Monday, they would serve a default notice.

Manenti, who bought the Emilia-Romagna club for a nominal sum of one euro a week earlier, had expressed optimism that he would be able to reach that deadline.

He did not, and several days later, a security panel met to discuss whether or not this weekend's game with Udinese could go ahead. The club does not even have enough money to pay wages while it has been rumoured that power may also be cut at the Stadio Tardini.

Manenti, who has several business interests in Slovenia, left Parma for Ljubljana on Tuesday, but he promises he was not running away from anything. Instead, he was trying to unblock the bank transfers.

"I really do have the money," Manenti told Parma Today. "I'm not crazy and I'm not bluffing. Do you really think I'd be so stupid? Just let us work. I know how pessimistic you are, but I'm not crazy. You can have your fun now, but once all this is sorted out, I'll tell you what has happened in these days."

Manenti was back in Parma on Thursday, giving further assurances to the players that the money was on its way.

"It is not easy to transfer such big sums from abroad, but I can guarantee that the money is there," Manenti said.

Manenti also said that Sunday's game will go ahead.

"I spoke with the stewards on Monday and assured them and convinced them," he said. "They will get all that they are owed."

Italian Professional Footballers' Association (AIC) president Damiano Tommasi paid the club's Collecchio training ground another visit on Thursday.

La Gazzetta dello Sport quotes Tommasi as saying: "Let's just hope we will soon see some concrete signs.

"I hope I don't have to come back here soon, but I probably will have to. The promises that were made for these few days have not been kept.

"I don't know exactly what the problem is, but it is now Thursday and we are in an identical situation to Tuesday."

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