Agent commissions are a frustrating reality of modern football, and the latest analysis suggests that Serie A clubs pay more on average than their counterparts in the Premier League and Bundesliga.
La Gazzetta dello Sport analysed the cost of agent fees in relation to total expenditures of the top leagues in Europe, highlighting a worrying trend for clubs in the Italian topflight.
In the 2022-23 season, Serie A clubs spent €205m on agent commissions, which at first glance is far less than the Premier League’s €362m on the same issue. However, things take a different turn when looking at these costs in relation to total transfer market expenditure.
In that same time period, clubs in Italy spent €831m in transfer fees, significantly less than the €2.9 billion spent by their English counterparts.
In summary, the Premier League spends around three and a half times more than Serie A in transfer fees and just 1.7 times more in agent commissions, a sign that teams in Italy are being stung more by these costs on average.
Even a comparison with the Bundesliga reveals some concerning signs for Serie A. The German topflight, with 18 teams, spent €800m more than their Italian counterparts in the 2021-22 season, but only spent €197.3m total in agent commissions for the 2021 calendar year, again showing a lower average cost of agent fees.
FIFA did introduce a cap to agent fees back in January of this year – to 3% of the overall salary and 10% of the transfer fee if working for the selling club – but it won’t be enforced until October 1, meaning this summer’s transfer window follows the old system.
In 2022, Juventus spent the most in Italy on agent fees – €51.3m. Behind them were Roma with €21.1m and Inter with €20.5m. In the Premier League, Manchester City spent €51.5m, Chelsea €43m and Liverpool €33m.
In the 2021 calendar year, Borussia Dortmund spent €32.7m on these fees, with RB Leipzig (€25.85m) and Bayern Munich (€25.81m) behind them. In Ligue 1, for the 2020-21 season, Paris Saint-Germain paid €28.4m in commissions, with Rennes, Lille and Lyon all behind with just over €10m.