Inter’s deal to sign Romelu Lukaku from Manchester United took Serie A past the €1 billion mark for this summer’s transfer window, according to Corriere dello Sport.
The current session has seen Italy’s top flight close the spending gap to the Premier League, who have dropped from €2 billion in 2017 to €1.5 billion in 2019.
Inter have been the driving force behind this upsurge in investments, following Suning’s decision to back Antonio Conte and build a competitive squad for their new boss.
The Nerazzurri’s expenditure has encouraged Napoli to follow suit, while also freeing up more money for the likes of Fiorentina, Bologna and Cagliari.
Despite the increase in spending this summer, CdS remained sceptical over claims this would ensure a more closely fought title race than in previous seasons.
Juventus remain one of the highest-spending clubs in the division and are also better run as a club than their immediate rivals.
The paper also pointed out how Italy was once again spending more than it could afford, highlighting how clubs’ wage bills were increasing at a far quicker rate than their income from TV rights.
“In other words, this means that Italian football, with its derisory match-day income and modest sponsorship deals, as well as a chronic lack of faith in its youth systems and a heavy dependence on TV rights money, is pursuing a qualitative target which is incompatible with its financial fragility,” they wrote.
