Transfers and rumours are an integral part of the world of football that has little to do with the game itself. It has its own cult heroes, such as Fabrizio Romano, who has tens of millions of followers on his social media.
Fabrizio RomanoRomano is known for his expression "Here we go", which refers to the upcoming transfer of a football player as a fait accompli. Romano's sources of information are often football agents and intermediaries, which the Italian does not hide. Promoting a footballer's persona on Romano's social media can have a favourable effect on his value and bring additional benefits to the agent. But is information the only payment for Romano's services?
Tipsbladet points out that it is not. The article about Romano appeared in this Danish publication because of the story with 18-year-old Copenhagen winger Rooney Bargie. On Wednesday, Romano tweeted that the talented footballer, who scored a goal against Manchester United in the Champions League, had lost his place in the Copenhagen side because he did not want to renew his contract with the club.
Copenhagen denied this information, and Tipsbladet columnist Troel Togersen writes that it can serve as an example of how agents, with the help of Romano, put pressure on clubs.
"I know that Fabrizio Romano is idolised by many. But I also know that he often carries out instructions from agents and receives information from them. We have documents that show how the company representing Romano's services contacts Danish and other clubs and offers them to buy publicity. Clubs can pay a pittance and Romano will write something about the club or the player to his 20 million followers on Twitter and 27 million on Instagram. It says a lot that the company that represents Romano's services is trying to establish relationships with clubs. What Romano writes should be taken with a grain of salt, because he may be doing it for commercial reasons. This is not journalism, this is business," Togersen concluded.
Tipsbladet reached out to Romano for a comment, but did not receive one. The Norwegian newspaper idrettspolitikk reported on the company's proposals and prices for Romano. According to Meran Amundsen-Ansari, the former marketing director of the Norwegian club Vålerenga, in 2022 he received a letter with a proposal to spread rumours about Vålerenga players on Romano's platforms.
- Romano's "congratulations" cost about $200.
- One post on social media cost $1,100.
- One video - $6,000.
According to idrettspolitikk, a number of Norwegian and Danish clubs have received messages with such offers. Formally, they are not written by Fabrizio Romano himself, but by a company called Memmo, which offers "direct access to the phone" of an insider.
Idrettspolitikk contacted Romano and Memmo for comment, but received no response. According to Meran Amundsen-Ansari, he did not use the service.
"It was irrelevant to us. I've been working for seven years at the top level of football, I've received a lot of strange emails, but never anything like this. In theory, this is supposed to be one of the most famous football 'journalists'. It's completely unserious, and I remember that after this story I stopped following him on social media," Amundsen-Ansari said.
