For Italian football this has been a chastening year, yet, ahead of a likely frenzy before their transfer window shuts on September 1, Serie A clubs have spent the summer asserting their place in Europe’s financial pecking order.
In both overall outlay and net spend, Serie A is a clear second among the ‘Big Five’ leagues.
While fee structures, conditional payments and financial sleights-of-hand can make the precise transfer values a little hazy, German site Transfermarkt on Thursday put Italy’s total outgoings at more than one billion euros, far ahead of La Liga, at three-quarters-of-a-billion, and then the Bundesliga.
In all, the 20 Serie A clubs are almost 430mn euros in the red this summer, against just under 300mn euros in Spain. Both the Bundesliga and French Ligue 1 are in profit.
Of course, the ‘Big Five’ is a misleading phrase. European club football has become the Premier League and everyone else. English clubs have, so far, spent 3.2bn euros, more than the other four league put together.
The second round of the Serie A season opens Friday with AC Milan, for now restored to their role as Italy’s biggest spenders, hosting smartly-dressed yoyo club Venezia.
When Milan spent a reported 74mn euros to acquire Goncalo Ramos from Paris Saint-Germain, he became the most expensive Serie A signing since Juventus bought Dusan Vlahovic from Fiorentina five years earlier.
With Diego Moreira, coming from Strasbourg for 50mn euros, Milan have spent a total of almost 160mn euros, a whisker more than Juventus, with plenty of moves to come.
Under new boss Ruben Amorim, Milan opened the season with a 2-1 win at Torino.
On Thursday, Amorim did not rule out further recruits.
“We have to wait five more days until the transfer window closes,” the Portuguese coach, who started last season in the Premier League with Manchester United, told his pre-match press conference.
“If someone arrives, it will be because they can help us both now and in the future.”
‘Things will take time’
He made clear that the transfer market was not simply about spending to bring players in.
“It’s impossible to train during the week with 27 players. Nobody is going to be prepared, nobody is going to be satisfied, so there are some players that if they stay, they will not be part of the squad,” he said, when asked about reports that the club was trying to unload Fikayo Tomori, Youssouf Fofana and Santiago Gimenez.
After a summer in which Italy missed the World Cup, sparking a debate on the lack of talent in the national team, Amorim said clubs need to develope from within.
“We need to take time and believe in our young players,” he said. “We are going to have some problems with young players in some games, but big surprises happen.
“Everyone wants everything really fast and I’m a little bit old school. I think a lot of things will take time.”
Yet on the opening weekend, five of the six biggest spenders, Milan, champions Inter Milan, Juventus, Roma and Napoli all won. The exception were Fiorentina, trying to spend their way into the top end of the table, who crashed to Roma.
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