Serie A clubs favour foreign transfers due to complex domestic payment rules
Italian Serie A clubs are conducting significantly more transfer business with foreign teams than domestic rivals this season, a trend driven by complex and costly financial guarantees required for deals between Italian sides. According to data from Transfermarkt, foreign players now account for 69.1% of total appearances in Serie A this season, a sharp rise from 55.2% in 2017-18. This season's transfer activity underscores the issue, with 108 permanent signings in the top flight coming from abroad compared to just 68 from within Italy.
The primary cause, according to club executives speaking to La Gazzetta dello Sport, is Italy's unique "stanza di compensazione" or clearing house system. Operated by the football leagues, this system requires clubs with a net negative balance from transfer dealings with other Italian teams to secure that debt with bank or insurance guarantees. These fideiussioni are expensive, often involve intermediary fees, and typically require collateral such as a blocked bank account or property. For foreign-owned clubs, which now constitute a majority in Serie A, accessing these guarantees is particularly difficult, with banks sometimes demanding 100% collateral.
Consequently, clubs find it far more appealing to negotiate with foreign entities, where payment terms are flexible and left to the autonomy of the parties involved. This cumbersome system has no direct equivalent in other major European leagues, including France and Germany, which have sophisticated financial controls. The financial impact is clear: FIFA data indicates Italian clubs are the second-highest spenders in the international transfer market since 2020, behind only English sides, having spent $5.2 billion abroad.
Lega Serie A president Ezio Simonelli confirmed the disparity to La Gazzetta, stating the current setup makes buying from a foreign club more advantageous. He expressed a desire to at least level the conditions between national and international transfers. Simonelli proposed creating a consortium of guarantee, potentially involving the Istituto per il Credito Sportivo, to make the instruments less burdensome if they cannot be eliminated entirely.
The issue has been discussed with Italy's Minister for Sport, Andrea Abodi, with whom there is also alignment on introducing tax relief to incentivize clubs that develop players for the national team. The clearing house system was established before the advent of UEFA and FIGC financial fair play regulations, which now prevent clubs with debts to other teams from being registered for competition. There is a growing recognition that a more competitive Italian national team, fueled by a stronger domestic talent pipeline, would benefit Serie A clubs by increasing player values and boosting the league's international profile and revenue.
The trend is also evident at youth level, where the percentage of foreign player appearances in the reserve teams of clubs like Inter, Atalanta, and Juventus far exceeds the average in Serie C. As the league works on corrective measures, the current financial mechanics continue to shape a market where looking abroad is often the simpler, more economically sensible path for Italian clubs.
