Serie A clubs were accused this morning of making an ‘abnormal and unhealthy’ use of capital gains to help balance their books.

Gazzetta dello Sport’s Marco Iaria revealed Italy’s top flight generated a staggering total of €2.673 billion between the 2013-14 and 2017-18 seasons, despite the FIGC abolishing co-ownership of players in 2015.

Last season, the so-called ‘plusvalenze’ accounted for 25% of Serie A’s annual revenue, a far greater portion than it should be considering TV deals, sponsorship agreements and ticket sales.

Only the Premier League has produced more capital gains in the same period (€2.686 billion), but their turnover is three times greater than Serie A’s, while the Bundesliga (€2.161 billion) and La Liga (€1.815 billion) remain a long way behind.

Inter have contributed to Italy’s recent boom by consistently selling off their academy players in a bid to comply with Financial Fair Play regulations.

Roma and Juventus are top of Serie A’s rankings between 2013 and 2018, though, having recouped €331 million and €327 million respectively.

The Italian Football Federation has tried to limit clubs’ appetite to register capital gains on their balance sheets by introducing a rule which states they are only eligible if there is no buy-back option in the deal.

But the FIGC has yet to produce a solution to player trading with inflated valuations, where no actual money changes hands, not least because the practice is facilitated by the Lega Serie A’s clearinghouse.