The land of pizza, espresso and easy money: Italian club paid $1.3 BILLION to players' agents

You often hear moans from football fans in Italy because their clubs can't afford to sign top-class players in their prime. But the latest information regarding fees paid to players' agents makes you wonder if the cash in Italy is just being spent foolishly.

According to reports published Tuesday in Italy, football agents have received $1.3 billion from Serie A clubs over the past eight years. And if it weren't for the Covid pandemic, that amount would have exceeded $1.5 billion. Just think about how many top-class players could have been recruited for that sort of money instead.

Italy is a country renowned for its easy living, but this is just too much. And please, let it be known that we don't believe all players' agents are bad and unnecessary. It's just that they get paid worryingly hefty for making phone calls and sending e-mails.

Juventus has spent the most among the top five clubs, which surprises just about nobody. The Turin club paid a total of $270 million to agents, somewhere between $30 and $40 million every year for the most of the past decade. Inter is in second with $156 million. That amount looks even more ridiculous if you consider the fact the Nerazzurri have a debt of $390 million and a loan of $275 million they are supposed to pay back over the next year.

Roma splashed $150 million on various agent fees in the same period. The club from the capital still has a debt of around $350 million. If you wondered how clubs let their debts get so large, well, agents fees are clearly one of the main factors there. Reigning champions AC Milan made agents $119 million richer, while Fiorentina coughed up $79 million - which is more than the fee they received when they sold striker Dusan Vlahovic to Juventus.

Is it annoying to see football agents get much more money than many players who train every day and perform every week to prove their worth and repay the faith shown by their fans and coaches? Yes, it is. While players are out there sweating on the training pitch and in the gym, their agent is sipping cold drinks and counting money. Will that change? Of course not.