Italian football may no longer be able to compete with its English and Spanish counterparts but, as its collective wage bill illustrates, Serie A is by no means one of Europe’s poorer cousins.
This season, 20 squads will share around £810m in wages, a figure that trails the top two leagues, but dwarfs the rest. That’s almost double player funds available in France’s Ligue 1.
Naturally, and entirely unsurprisingly, the big guns are in receipt of most of it, with the payroll of the two Milan giants and Juventus making up nearly a fifth of the tally above.
It’s worth noting though that Como have a higher wage bill than 11 clubs in La Liga while Bologna falls just shy of Brentford.
Subsequently, the Peninsula can still attract the leading lights while mid-table fare can lure decent talent too.
As for the highest paid individuals, the usual suspects feature prominently with one notable exception deriving from the reigning champions.
Dušan Vlahović, Juventus (£372,000 per week)
Across seven seasons in Serie A – first with Fiorentina, then the Old Lady – Vlahović has fired 87 goals in 202 appearances.
In a league notorious for shackling strikers, and limiting them to half-chances, that’s the kind of return that warrants the megabucks.
Yet despite being voted into Serie A’s Team of the Year on two occasions, and notching some crucial goals for the Turin side, the 25-year-old still has his critics among the Juve faithful, frustrated at the opportunities he squanders rather than admiring his success rate.
Moreover, with the towering Serb entering the final year of his contract, and following the signing of Jonathan David this summer, rumours abound that the forward could be sold. Ironically, given the context here, the chief reason is to ease their burgeoning wage bill.
Lautaro Martinez, Inter Milan (£277,000 per week)
There are striking similarities between Martinez and Vlahovic, namely that they’re target-men who almost boast a goal every two games for their respective clubs. Afforded half a yard of space both can upend the live betting markets in a heartbeat.
It’s pertinent therefore that the Argentine international brings home nearly a hundred thousand less than his Turin peer each and every week.
The situation gets all the odder when it’s factored in that Inter have the bigger wage budget, allocating £121m to their personnel compared to Juve’s £96m ceiling, but of course an explanation lies in how they each arrived in Italy.
Juventus had to fight off several other interested parties to land their star man, upping their wages as a consequence. Martinez was sourced from Racing Club for a modest fee of £16m.
Nicolo Barella, Inter Milan (£200,000 per week)
Another Inter stalwart. Another hefty wage.
There’s no disputing Barella’s worth however, a player set to inherit the captaincy this season and already the proud owner of the armband for his country.
Not that the former Cagliari midfielder is only integral for his leadership qualities. He makes Inter tick, popping up with the odd goal and as effective offensively as he is protecting Christian Chivu’s back-line.
Not for nothing has he been nominated twice for the Ballon d’Or, winning Serie A’s Best Midfielder merit twice-over too.
Kevin De Bruyne, Napoli (£190,000 per week)
When the Manchester City maestro signed for Napoli in June he became the sixth highest earner on the Peninsula.
Yet with Victor Osimhen moving to Galatasaray and Roma’s Paulo Dybala accepting reduced terms to sign a one-year extension in the capital it means the multiple Premier League winner is given a major bump.
It's a bump the Belgian unquestionably deserves too, considering the excitement he has generated in a city that does excitement better than most.
Though 34 now, and with a succession of injuries weakening his superpowers, De Bruyne is comfortably the most marquee name to grace Serie A for some time.
Jonathan David, Juventus (£186,000 per week)
Every summer, without fail, the Brooklyn-born, Canadian international would be heavily linked to Serie A.
It took his contract to run out at Lille, and a bumper offer from the most successful club in Italy to make it finally happen.
A £10.8m signing on bonus definitely oiled the wheel, while David’s £9.7m yearly salary immediately puts him among the elite earners across Europe.
It equates to £1107 an hour and is just reward for several seasons of prolific service in France, banging in goals on an almost weekly basis for the Mastiffs.
Only now, the 25-year-old must prove himself all over again, prove he can cut it at the highest level after long being widely tipped to do so.
In the Serie A betting, David is among the favourites to win the Capocannoniere before he has even struck a ball in anger. It’s a ball that’s firmly in his court.
*Credit for the main photo belongs to Alamy*
