Fairytale or simple economics? Milan spent more than any other Serie A side in past five seasons
AC Milan upset the odds on Sunday evening when they cruised to a 3-0 victory over Sassuolo to win their 19th league title and a first Serie A in 11 years. Heralded as nothing short of a fairytale ending to a remarkable league campaign in Italy, Stefano Pioli’s side dumbfounded fans and critics alike by beating city rivals Inter Milan in a close-run race, while other domestic rivals such as Juventus and Napoli fell off the pace some time ago.
Indeed, the manner of Milan’s success in the league this season has been characterised as something of a giant killing, following Juve’s continued failure to win a league that they once dominated with relatively little competition from Italy’s other big clubs. However, while Milan may not boast a wage bill quite as large as their Turin rivals, they certainly haven’t been minnows in the transfer window either.
This will perhaps come as no great surprise to Milan fans, who have seen their club go through multiple owners over the past five years and while the club that once dominated Italian and European football hasn’t quite returned to its former glory just yet, it has got back on its feet and put its money where it’s mouth is.
€380 million spent - How Milan built a title-winning squad
For example, in the 2017/18 season Milan’s net spend in the transfer window was no less than €152 million, as the club signed Leonardo Bonucci for €42m, André Silva for €38m, Andrea Conti for €24m, Hakan Calhanoglu for €23m and Lucas Biglia for €19.7m. All while only making around €35m from sales in the same season.
Following a change in ownership in 2018, Milan’s spending took a considerable nosedive in the 18/19 season, where the Italian giants’s net spend fell to just €11m. Which was in no small part down to a number of big-name players - many mentioned in the previous paragraph - being sold to cover costs at the club to the tune of around €194m.
However, any sense of an austere approach to the future was quickly extinguished the following season, when Milan spent €123m on new players, including impressive talents like Franck Kessié, Rafael Leão, Theo Hernández and Ismaël Bennacer. Young, talented players with huge potential and resale value. But, for now, undoubtedly huge costs for the Italian club to take on.
Since then, Milan’s net spend has stood at around €60m over the past two seasons, which brings the previous five years total to around €381m. Not only is that a remarkable figure for any European club, but it’s also more than any other club in Italian football. Juventus, for comparison, have a net spend of €321m in that period while city rivals Inter currently sit on just €74m spent in excess.
- Date of birth/Age:
- May 1, 1987 (37)
- Nat.:
- Current club:
- Fenerbahce
- Contract until:
- Jun 30, 2024
- Position:
- Centre-Back
- Market Value:
- €1.00m
- Date of birth/Age:
- Dec 19, 1996 (27)
- Nat.:
- Current club:
- Al-Ahli SFC
- Contract until:
- Jun 30, 2026
- Position:
- Central Midfield
- Market Value:
- €18.00m
- Date of Birth/Age:
- 20.10.1965 (58)
- Nat.:
- Current club:
- Without Club
- Current Position:
- Manager
- Total Market Value:
- €526.55m
- Competition:
- Serie A
- Position:
- 2.
- Squad size:
- 26
- Latest Transfer:
- Filippo Terracciano