Alafouzos still calling the shots at Panathinaikos
Giannis Alafouzos continues to call the shots at Panathinaikos by making various off-field moves, two years after stating he has pulled the plug.
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In September 2017, Giannis Alafouzos shocked the entire Greek football world when he announced that he would no longer contribute any money and refrain from any further investment at Panathinaikos. Back then, the club’s debt was spiraling out of control to the tune of a rumoured 60 million euro and Alafouzos was seemingly looking for a new investor to buy his shares at the club.
However, fast forward to November 2019 and over two years later, the hugely unpopular owner is still the majority owner of Panathinaikos and calls the shots. He flirted with a few potential interested investors, namely Pairoj Piempongsant but it came to nothing.
While the club limped to a poor ending to the 2017-18 season amid the off-field financial mess, Alafouzos hired Giorgos Donis as the new manager to replace Marinos Ouzounidis. On top of this, Nikos Dabizas was recruited as the technical director. For someone who stated they would no longer contribute any funds, these moves were in stark contrast and were not cheap. Donis is among the highest-profile coaches in Greece along with Abel Ferreira (even Pedro Martins was relatively unknown before moving to Olympiacos). Dabizas cost an estimated 250,000 euros as well.
In essence, Alafouzos gave the keys of the club to these two men as they attempted to work under a very limited scope and minimal funds at their disposal. While Dabizas has since left the club, there have also been other moves by Alafouzos that go against his infamous words in September 2017.
Perhaps another key move which totally goes against his previous intentions, has been the fact that he has financially contributed 28 million euros in the last 10 months through share capital increases. This is tipped to rise to 35 million euros by season’s end. His motive is unknown - maybe he is still seeking to attract potential new investors, but the club’s debt has dropped by 40 million euros, down to an estimated 20 million euros within the last two years. This figure is also expected to fall even more by the end of the season to 10-15 million euros.
Alafouzos has also taken a hands-on approach in running the club at times. For instance, Tasos Chatzigiovanis and his management team butted heads with Dabizas over the terms of a contract extension. The young winger was then regularly omitted from the team sheet. However, Alafouzos attended the team’s hotel in the lead up to the match against Atromitos (after Dabizas was sacked) at Peristeri a few weeks ago and since then, Chatzigiovanis has put pen to paper on a new and improved deal that will see him stay at the club until 2022. He is now a regular in the starting team.
Furthermore, a new share capital increase has been tipped to take place in January to the tune of five million euro. This comes after a three million euro investment earlier this season. Again, the motives are unknown, but UEFA is still monitoring club management and their every move off the field in line with the punishment handed down during the 2017-18 season. This will also help reduce the club’s debt to under 15 million euros.
Only time will tell exactly what his intentions are, but he is still even in discussions over possible moves for Panathinaikos’ new stadium in the future which could point to him reactivating his interest in remaining at the helm for the long haul.
