Arsenal’s move for Riccardo Calafiori continues to be something of a mess, with various clubs all holding their hands out expecting a share of the deal.
That’s according to Blick, who cover the move today and how much his former club Basel could be set to profit from the matter.
Arsenal have been chasing a deal for the Bologna defender for weeks and appear to have finally reached a breakthrough, with a report two days ago stating that he was expected to undergo a medical with the Gunners soon.
Throughout the process it’s been made clear that there is a complicated knot of agreements tying up the deal, with various clubs all waiting to receive a share of the transfer fee Arsenal pay.
Blick cover that from the Swiss angle today, explaining that according to their information, FC Basel have a 50% stake in the re-sale of their former player. Once consultant fees have been deducted, that could see them earn €23m from the €50m transfer fee Arsenal are believed to be paying.
But it’s still unclear whether they will actually receive such a sum as, at the beginning of the week, Roma claimed a share in the resale too.
Calafiori moved from Roma to Basel for €2.6m in 2022 but the Italians retained a 40% resale share for the future. Basel complied with this when they sold the defender to Bologna for €4m last year but Roma believe they should be owed a cut of all future transfers that Basel benefit from.
Blick say if it wasn’t ‘explicitly’ made clear in the terms that the clause referred to just one future income and not all, then there is a good chance Roma will get their cut too.
In that scenario, Basel would have to transfer around €9.2m to Roma and see their cut of the deal reduced to €13.8m.
That would be a bitter pill to swallow for the Swiss side but would still be one of the most lucrative deals in their history, netting them around €15.m once the final sums are done. They’ve only made more profit from the sales of Breel Embolo and Manuel Akanji.
It’s now a waiting game to see how the matter pans out, with everyone waiting for Arsenal to conclude things before then putting their hands out and waiting for their own cuts.
