Christmas has come early for Inter Milan fans with the news that the club is se to sign Portuguse midfielder Joao Mario and Brazilian striker Gabriel Barbosa this weekend for a combined €72m.
According to reports Inter have paid Santos €28m for Gabigol, with €10m going to the player and €18m to Santos, as his ownership rights are divided up.
It is unclear whether Gabigol, who has just finished playing for Brazil in the Olympics, will join Inter now or will remain at Santos on loan until January.
Considering the amount of money that Inter paid to get him, I cannot see him returning to Brazil. He will stay in Italy with Inter.
The other big deal is the signing of Joao Mario from Sporting. After what seemed weeks of negotiations, Inter have agreed to pay Sporting a €10m loan fee for this summer, with €35m payment due in 12 months time.
These two deals, plus the earlier acquisition of Antonio Candreva from Lazio for €22m will take Inter’s summer transfer spend over €100m. A mind-boggling number considering that Inter are under Uefa Financial Fair Play limitations.
So how are the Nerazzurri getting around FFP? Two ways.
According to calcioefinanza.it, Inter’s new owners, Suning, are allowed to invest up to 30% of their revenue as sponsors. Inter’s revenues last season were €165m, so that means that Suning can technically put €49.5m into the club.
A nice amount but it does not come close to what Inter have spent in the transfer market this month. To close the gap Inter could midfielder Marcelo Brozovic is on the market for €30m after interest from Chelsea, Arsenal, Juventus and Roma.
But if Brozovic is not sold, Inter could simply not include Gabigol, Joao Mario and Candreva in their Europa League squad. Uefa’s FFP restrictions only applies to Champions League and Europa League and Corriere della Sera is reporting that the Serie A side is seriously considering this move.
What do you think of the new signings Inter fans?
