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Welcome to issue #090 of Contemporary Football, your inside look at how the game really works behind the scenes.
Monday to Friday, you’ll uncover a new perspective on football business, and sometimes a deeper story that sharpens your thinking and gives you an edge in the beautiful game.
If you need support on your football journey, just write me.
In Italy, everyone says the same thing.
“There are too many foreign players.”
The numbers:
Foreign players in Serie A went from 55.2% in 2017/18 to 69.1% in 2025/26.
One of the highest levels in Europe.
Only the Premier League (75.4%) and Portugal (73.8%) are higher.
Higher than France (64.9%), Germany (61.4%), and far above Spain (43.4%).
Why?
It’s not what you think
Most people think it’s technical.
Clubs don’t trust Italian players. Or Italian players are not good enough.
Could be, but that’s not true.
Let’s not forget that, like in any industry, clubs don’t make ideological choices.
They respond to incentives.
So…what could be the reason for 70% of foreigners?
In Italy, buying from another Italian club is harder than buying abroad.
Yes, it is harder.
Why?
Because of this one thing: the “stanza di compensazione.”
In Italy, every domestic transfer goes through a system that guarantees financial balances.
Sounds safe.
But what does it mean for a club?
– Clubs with negative balances must provide bank guarantees → those guarantees have costs
– Banks often require counter-guarantees → sometimes up to 100% collateral of the transfer fee
So a simple transfer becomes:
more complex
more expensive
more rigid
Now compare that with international deals.
Flexible payments.
Direct negotiation.
Fewer constraints.
The consequence
So from an operational point of view, CEOs and CFOs push to buy abroad.
Clubs follow the easiest path.
Last season:
– 108 permanent deals abroad
– 68 domestic deals
It means that the capital leaves the system.
Since 2020:
– Italian clubs spent $5.2bn abroad
– France: $4.6bn
– Germany: $4.5bn
– Spain: $3.6bn
Second only to England.
This is a capital allocation issue.
And it doesn’t stop with Serie A.
Even development teams import.
Foreign player presence in Italian second teams:
– Inter U23: 32.1%
– Atalanta U23: 25.2%
– Juventus Next Gen: 23.7%
– Milan Futuro (4th div): 45%
Thoughts
If a system makes it easier to buy abroad than at home…
What do you expect clubs to do?
You can’t ask clubs to develop Italian players…
…if the system penalises domestic transfers.
You fix things with incentives.
– make domestic and international deals comparable
– reduce the cost of guarantees
Today the signal is clear: buying Italian is harder.
So clubs don’t do it.
Most people look at the outcome.
Too many foreign players.
But the real story is upstream.
The system shapes the market.
And the market shapes the squad.
Change the system…and the rest follows.
Keep winning,
Federico
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