Why Italian football has no money

Clubs in Serie A are struggling to spend money. In January 2023 transfer window when the Premier League spent a combined total of 800m Euros, Serie A spent just 33m.

But why? What is holding Italian clubs back from competing with their European counterparts? What are the main revenue streams, and why aren’t they fruitful?

James Horncastle writes, Henry Cooke illustrates.

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#SerieA

[enod]

The Serie A was the best league in Europe in 1993-95. As someone living in Africa, I will say the Serie A did not build on its popularity to push its marketing into the African market in those years. In Nigeria, the transfer of Kanu Nwankwo from Inter to Arsenal and the circumstances around it really caused local animosity against Italian football and sparked off interest in the EPL. The EPL saw this opportunity and began to make huge inroads into the African market via aggressive marketing. When Didier Drogba and other African players arrived in England, it was game, set and match. Italian football's appeal in Africa has not recovered since despite a renaissance in the Serie A. Why Nigerians are even starting to watch the Serie A with some renewed interest is because of Victor Osimhen. In his current form, it is only a matter of time before some bid-spending EPL club comes calling.

[georgetware]

Been living in Italy the past two months. Maybe not for some fans, but it's been so refreshing to follow this league without outrageous price tags being thrown around like in the Premier League and still having amazing atmospheres at games.

[hungchoonghow]

Serie A has truly fallen on hard times. There was a time where AC Milan had a great Dutch trio, Inter had a great German trio, Napoli had Maradona, Juventus had Platini, even clubs like Udinese had Zico and Roma had Rudi Voller. Now, I can see their clubs signing players from Nepal or North Korea based on their budgets.

[nickogega]

The authentic voice of Tifo. Both calming to the ear and educational.

[dennisgichohi]

Ever since Juventus domination ended Serie A has been very entertaining and winning this yr will make 4 different champion's in 4yrs and in UCL 3 Italian teams in quarter finals

[timidstein]

I love Serie A. Even aside from watching my team (Inter) I still love the passion and history of Italian calcio. All things go in phases, Serie A just needs some udates and more investments.

[ToyotaCharlie]

Many Serie A clubs are managed poorly, and there is corruption and other issues in Italy.

But I would argue the premier league is a bigger problem for the sport. When entire middle east countries back clubs with seemingly endless money in a muddy intransparent fashion I think it hurts the sport.

[markusbisma]

Italian League was a huge deal in the 90's. I remember watching R9 in his prime.

[azwarrakitic]

In my country Indonesia the people who like watching series a is mostly old people, they who grew up in the era of inzaghi, del piero, totti, etc

[Cauliflower]

I’m 47 I was hardcore serie A fan mid 90s and early 2000. The days of the 10 Peppe Signori he was a handsome and a ruthless forward . Parma was a real team with Crespo, Veron, Dino Baggio, Buffon and Sensini etc etc. Bierhoff the German in udinese was the best header in Serie A back that time, he scored some insane goals with his head. Serie A ruled the world once but now it lost its charm unfortunately:(

[calumnoah]

This goes with Bundesliga and LaLiga too. The Bundesliga only has Bayern who can spend, just like Juventus before this year apocalypse. Juventus last year had the 3rd most expansive transfer ever in the winter window, Vlahovic.

LaLiga has Real, Barcelona and Atletico, but the rest cant spend much while in Italy you still have Inter and Roma that are spending fair amount of money. Napoli paid Oshimen 80M and probably Milan will start spending again in the next seasons. So basically its just the premier league that is on a different level moneywise

If you look at the clubs who spent the most in the last 10 years, Juventus is the 5th under Chelsea, city, utd and Barcelona.
In the first 20 positions there are 8 english teams, 3 spanish teams, 2 french teams, 2 german teams and 4 italian teams.

So its a bit of a cherry picking to just take a lame transfer window and compare It to the craziest transfer window a team in football ever had (Chelsea)

[BihorPanaMor]

I absolutely love seeing Serie A clubs finally having to develop and promote their young players, it's something I have been wishing for for ages! I'm sure it will pay off in the long run and spectators are still enthusiastic and filling the stadiums. This is healthy football!

[-locke-]

I enjoy Italian calcio a lot, Serie A's easily my second favourite league after Prem. The fall of Juve has done wonders for the league and there's many club capable of winning the title. Of course Napoli is clearly the best team this season and they'll win Scudetto (they deserve it 100%) but last few seasons have been incredibly exciting with Milano clubs battling it out for the title.

The league needs more investment, that's true. Serie A definitely needs better marketing as well. Potential is there but they need use it MUCH, MUCH better.

Hopefully Napoli wins the UCL this year. It would be a great boost for Italian football. Napoli's got an incredible squad built with clever signings. The style of their play is magnificent. That club and its fan base has suffered way too much. Scudetto is a big thing but imagine the UCL. Oh man, that would be a big win for football.

[helloweeny]

Italy will be fine. While Serie A is struggling in terms of spending, the Italian 2020 Euro win shows there is a lot of homegrown talent being nurtured. This can be linked to the fact Italy has outstanding sports science and sports higher education facilities and investment, similar to France and Portugal. The move to recruit from smaller countries and clubs is smart and I think it will be very successful in the coming years.

[fcpcb]

Serie A in the 90s was the best league not just then but perhaps the history of football. There are many factors for the falling of its financial strength. Italian economy in general has been declining for many years, global TV broadcast falling behind EPL (language and commercialization) and also overspending and scandals in latter years of the glory days really killed off few clubs (Juven, Fiorentina, Lazio, Parma and more). Honestly I don't mind less spending on the market by Serie A clubs today but would like to see more local young talents get more chances. It's more concerning to think Azzuri has failed to qualify for the WC twice in a row than a low spending January mercato.

[vindo]

There are several reasons why Serie A, the top professional football league in Italy, does not generate as much revenue as the English Premier League:

Lack of Marketing: Serie A has traditionally not been marketed as aggressively as the English Premier League. The Premier League has invested heavily in promoting its brand globally, whereas Serie A has not focused as much on marketing itself as a league.

Stadium Infrastructure: Many Serie A teams play in older stadiums with limited seating and outdated facilities, which can negatively impact the fan experience and limit revenue-generating opportunities. In contrast, many English Premier League teams play in modern, state-of-the-art stadiums that can accommodate larger crowds and offer more amenities for fans.

TV Rights: The English Premier League has negotiated more lucrative TV rights deals than Serie A. The Premier League's global appeal and popularity means that TV broadcasters are willing to pay top dollar for the rights to show their matches. In contrast, Serie A's limited global appeal means that its TV rights deals are not as lucrative.

Competition: The English Premier League is widely regarded as the most competitive football league in the world, with multiple teams capable of winning the title each year. In contrast, Serie A has been dominated by Juventus for much of the past decade, which has reduced the competitiveness of the league and potentially deterred fans from tuning in.

Economic Stability: Italian football has struggled with financial instability in recent years, with many clubs facing significant debt and financial difficulties. This has led to a lack of investment in infrastructure and player development, which has further reduced the league's competitiveness and global appeal.

[gust_of_fall]

Change the headline
To " How EPL money inflation portrayed La Liga, Bundesliga, Serie A poor? "

[arthurahabwe]

What serie a was in the 80s and 90s, is what the premier league is right now.

[sergeyk]

The lack of elite Italian players is shocking. Not 1 player from this Italy Euro squad would make the Italy teams of 2006 2002 1998 or 1994. Why would Serie A be any better? Where is the Italian talent? Where are the elite strikers and defenders like Totti Baggio Del Piero Toni Inzaghi Vieri? Defenders like Maldini Nesta Canavarro Chiellini Gattuso?

You cannot name one player in all of Italy on par with those players and that is shocking.

[bigmeatie]

In the 90's and early 00's Italian football felt like the jewel in the crown of European football. It felt like most clubs had at least one standout star, with the top clubs having some of the best squads around.

I cant help feel but the calciopoli scandal led to mistrust from fans and sponsors towards the league, and they have never truly recovered. Whilst at the same time the other major Leagues made huge steps forward in their marketing and broadcast sales that has led to their prosperity.

It will be interesting to see if the controversy around Man City's and Barcelona's finances have any kind of impact on the prosperity of those leagues now, or whether they are already too big to fail.