By Marta Elena Casanova
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From Serie A to the Saudi Pro League, MLS, and Other Emerging Leagues Offering Eye-Watering Salaries and Comeback Opportunities. In the global football landscape of 2025, the top European leagues are no longer the only coveted stages for top players. For Italy’s top flight, often struggling with difficult budgets, these destinations have become a way to reduce the wage bill, cash in on capital gains, and sometimes sacrifice technical value just to balance the books.
In Saudi Arabia, Worth Its Weight in Gold
In recent years, Saudi Arabia has become a preferred market for selling Serie A’s big names. Last summer saw Sergej Milinković-Savić move from Lazio to Al Hilal for around 40 million euros. This deal generated a net capital gain for the Roman club, as well as freeing up a wage exceeding 4 million euros net per season.
And it wasn’t the only case: Marcelo Brozović moved from Inter to Al Nassr for 18 million euros, Merih Demiral went from Atalanta to Al Ahli, and more recently Mateo Retegui left Atalanta for 68.5 million euros to join Al Qadsiah.
All these players have caught the eye of Saudi clubs, attracted by offers that are hard to refuse and “monster” contracts. Serie A teams, especially those outside the Champions League, have seized the opportunity in recent years to raise cash and lower the wage bill.
MLS 2025: A Destination for the Twilight of a Career
The Major League Soccer has also returned to attract well-known names from Italy’s league. After the explosion of the “Messi phenomenon,” 2025 saw the transfers of players like Federico Bernardeschi and Lorenzo Insigne (now back in Italy), as well as newcomers like Andrea Petagna and Manolo Gabbiadini, who arrived on free transfers or for modest fees.
In these cases, the clubs’ objective isn’t so much capital gains as wage relief. Insigne, for example, weighed over 5 million euros net per season on Napoli’s budget. Transfers to the MLS thus offer accounting breathing room, even if they don’t always fit the logic of technical investment.
Capital Gains and Cuts: The Two Faces of Foreign Transfers
In most cases, transfers to non-EU leagues are driven by financial needs. Clubs aim to:
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make capital gains by selling players already amortized,
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cut heavy wages, especially for players over 30,
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free up space for sustainable wages or to develop young talent.
In 2024, according to official FIGC data, Serie A earned over 180 million euros from sales to non-European markets, a sharp increase compared to the previous three years. But this also means a loss in technical quality: the league’s average level drops while risks increase due to the inexperience of replacements.
The Paradox: Balanced Budgets but Weaker Teams?
This is the big dilemma for Italian clubs: selling stars for financial reasons but then having to rebuild with more limited budgets. Clubs that have sold well abroad, like Lazio, Milan, or Atalanta, have reduced deficits but also had to rebuild. And the renewal is not always immediate.
In 2025, it is estimated that Serie A saved over 100 million euros in salaries thanks to transfers to Saudi Arabia, MLS, and Qatar. But the results in Europe and the appeal of the league are suffering.
A Trend Likely to Grow?
It is true that some players who emigrated later decide to come back to leagues that feel more familiar and are more followed by the public. But with the rising economic power of emerging leagues and stagnating Italian domestic revenues, the trend is likely to continue in upcoming transfer windows. Italian clubs, excluding a few top teams, will keep looking abroad to monetize, even at the cost of sacrificing important profiles.
By Marta Elena Casanova
