Growth Decree, chilling blow to Italian football market: here’s what changes now

The Italian football transfer market has received a significant blow with the cancellation of a clause initially included in the Growth Decree. The clause offered fiscal discounts to athletes, particularly footballers, arriving from abroad.

The termination of the measure, previously mentioned in the draft of the ‘Thousand Extensions’ decree, will impact Serie A clubs who planned to use these tax benefits during the upcoming winter transfer window. It was anticipated that these benefits could assist in the signing of players or the extension of existing contracts.

Starting from January 1, 2024, Italian clubs will no longer be able to utilise fiscal incentives for the salary and engagement of footballers coming from abroad. The future market strategies of these clubs will greatly influenced by this decision.

Importantly, the abolition applies only to contracts from January 1, 2024 onwards. This means any player who has signed a contract benefitting from these fiscal incentives in the past four years will continue to benefit from the previous tax regime for a maximum of five years.

The full impact and consequences of this decision on the Italian football market remains to be seen.