The Leao and Skriniar cases and those prosecutors have become a plague. The editorial of the director Barigelli

Is Leao ready for renewal or is he ready to leave Milan? Yesterday the Gazzetta gave an account of a stumbling block in the endless soap opera of his contract, while the Rossoneri club specified that there is no slowdown. On the contrary. The negotiation conducted by Maldini and Massara would proceed with the known difficulties, but with the will and the hope of finally closing it. Having said that our newspaper would be delighted if the player decided to sign for Milan, who have valued him to the point of making him a star, in reality, the Gazzetta is above all interested in underlining that the time has come to address the issue of agents , their overwhelming power and how football is now often at their mercy.

The Leao case is very similar to the Skriniar case. Inter also believed in the renewal until the Slovak signed for PSG instead. A disrespectful behavior of the shirt he still wears, of the captain’s armband he had the honor to wear, of the passion and affection of the Inter fans: they cheered for him in the vain hope that those sentiments would bridge the gap between the rich offer Nerazzurri and the pharaonic one of the Qataris in Paris. It will be said that this is football, these are the values, this is the reality. Appealing to a world that no longer exists is useless: if it goes well, we only risk making ourselves look naïve.

So let’s put it in another, more concrete way. But why shouldn’t clubs that invest millions of euros in a footballer be able to be compensated at the time of separation, perhaps after being carried around by unscrupulous prosecutors? Is it a problem to be addressed within the European Union? Well, Leagues, national federations and UEFA face it. Because by now the scourge of the many unscrupulous and improvised prosecutors is creating enormous damage, especially in championships, such as the Italian one, grappling with a profound crisis in revenues that has become an emergency. In fact, while the transfer of money from one club to another in a market transaction causes those resources to remain in the football system, the money paid into the pockets of these insatiable adventurers causes resources to leave the system. It only enriches prosecutors, not clubs. Not football, which is depleting instead.

How much money placed in prosecutors’ current accounts could be reinvested in youth sectors, in infrastructure, in the overall improvement of the system?

Inter and Milan should take the lead in this battle, together with our other most important clubs, rather than discussing with the Gazzetta whether a title is good or not. Clubs must have a vision, not always act under the dictate of urgent needs. They must have goals, not targets. Our newspaper on the prosecutors’ problem (not everyone is so clear, fortunately there are good and honest ones) is ready to do its part. Without the pretension of wanting to give lessons. We leave that to the moralists a lot per kilo, who have a straight back in the morning and maybe call in the evening to recommend their wife.