West Ham United buying Angelo Ogbonna from Juventus was ‘an alarm bell that shocked many’ in 2013, said director Francesco Calvo, but a sign of the economic power the Premier League would become.
Speaking to Calcio e Finanza, Juventus Managing Director of Revenue and Football Development identified the sale of Ogbonna for €11m as the canary in the coalmine of the transfer market.
“If we look at before and after the Melandri Law was introduced, it is a problem. In 2009, Atletico Madrid received €50m from television rights, while Juventus received €110m, whereas now Atletico Madrid get €130m and Juventus perhaps reach €85m,” said Calvo.
“In 2013, many people were shocked that Juventus would sell Ogbonna to West Ham and that West Ham could afford to buy an Italy international from Juventus. That was the alarm bell, whereas now it is the norm.
“The middle-to-low level English clubs have more resources than we do. It is scary that the lowest English team in the league earns more than the top Italian.
“People talk about there being top five leagues, but the truth is there is England, followed by Spain, then Italy, France and Germany.”
There are some serious problems that foreign investors have found working in Serie A, mostly tied in with the limitations on selling TV rights and sponsorship deals.
“The cause goes back many years. In general, the Italian GDP has not really grown at all for 20 years, but also nobody except for us, Udinese and Atalanta invested in stadiums. We can see the problems that arise in any Italian city when there is talk of a new stadium.
“If the country does not grow, if red tape is an obstacle and you have a Serie A system that does not work at the same level as the best European leagues, it becomes difficult to improve. Those are all limitations to our growth.”