Short answer: Inter have the highest estimated gross wage bill in Serie A for 2026/27 at €145.82 million, just ahead of Juventus (€145.52 million), followed by Napoli (€109.72M) and AC Milan (€103.14M). The 20 clubs total about €1.23 billion, bonuses excluded, according to Calcio e Finanza.
Serie A Wage Bills 2026/27: Key Takeaways
- Inter and Juventus Neck and Neck: Inter have the highest estimated gross wage bill at €145.82 million, just €0.3 million ahead of Juventus (€145.52 million).
- Four Clubs Above €100M: Inter, Juventus, Napoli (€109.72M) and AC Milan (€103.14M) all cross €100 million gross. The 20 clubs total about €1.23 billion, bonuses excluded.
- Como Keep Climbing: Owned by the billionaire Hartono brothers‘ family (combined fortune of more than $43.8 billion, per AP in March 2026), Como have the ninth-biggest Serie A payroll (€62.45M gross) and are fifth after eight matches.
- Payroll Isn’t Destiny (Yet): Promoted Frosinone have the smallest wage bill (€15.27M) but sit sixth, one place above Juventus. Fiorentina (tenth-biggest, €60.87M) are 18th.
If you follow European football on social media, Italian transfer gossip can feel confusing. In England, fans and journalists talk about gross weekly wages. In Italy, contracts are usually reported as net yearly figures. When an Italian outlet reports that a star earns €9 million, fans often assume Serie A clubs run on tiny budgets compared to the Premier League.
In reality, the Italian tax office takes a big cut. With the top personal income tax (IRPEF) rate at 43% plus regional and municipal surcharges, a €9 million net salary works out at roughly €16–17 million gross (our rough estimate).
To compare clubs like for like, we use Calcio e Finanza‘s estimates of each club’s gross player wages for 2026/27, published on 7 September 2026 (bonuses excluded). Below is the complete ranking of all 20 clubs in this season’s Serie A, set against the league table after eight matches.
All 20 Serie A Clubs Ranked by Gross Wage Bill (2026/27)
Gross wage bills are Calcio e Finanza‘s 2026/27 estimates in millions of euros (€M), excluding bonuses. Share of the €1.23 billion league total and the last column are our calculations; +6 means a club sits six places higher in the table than its payroll ranks. Points and positions are as of 25 October 2026, after eight matches.
| Rank | Club | Gross Wage Bill (Calcio e Finanza est., Sept 2026) | Share of Serie A Total | Points After 8 Matches | League Position (25 Oct 2026) | Places Above (+) or Below (−) Wage Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Inter | €145.82M | 11.9% | 22 | 1st | 0 |
| 2 | Juventus | €145.52M | 11.9% | 14 | 7th | −5 |
| 3 | Napoli | €109.72M | 8.9% | 11 | 10th | −7 |
| 4 | AC Milan | €103.14M | 8.4% | 18 | 4th | 0 |
| 5 | AS Roma | €92.70M | 7.6% | 18 | 3rd | +2 |
| 6 | Atalanta | €73.77M | 6.0% | 10 | 11th | −5 |
| 7 | Lazio | €69.87M | 5.7% | 22 | 2nd | +5 |
| 8 | Bologna | €65.00M | 5.3% | 8 | 13th | −5 |
| 9 | Como 1907 | €62.45M | 5.1% | 17 | 5th | +4 |
| 10 | Fiorentina | €60.87M | 5.0% | 4 | 18th | −8 |
| 11 | Torino | €48.51M | 4.0% | 13 | 8th | +3 |
| 12 | Sassuolo | €38.43M | 3.1% | 8 | 14th | −2 |
| 13 | Venezia (Promoted 2026) | €38.26M | 3.1% | 3 | 20th | −7 |
| 14 | Genoa | €34.10M | 2.8% | 7 | 16th | −2 |
| 15 | Cagliari | €30.75M | 2.5% | 13 | 9th | +6 |
| 16 | Udinese | €28.69M | 2.3% | 4 | 17th | −1 |
| 17 | Parma | €25.66M | 2.1% | 4 | 19th | −2 |
| 18 | Monza (Promoted 2026) | €22.94M | 1.9% | 7 | 15th | +3 |
| 19 | Lecce | €16.18M | 1.3% | 9 | 12th | +7 |
| 20 | Frosinone (Promoted 2026) | €15.27M | 1.2% | 14 | 6th | +14 |
Serie A 2026/27: estimated gross wage bills. Source: Calcio e Finanza estimates, September 2026.
How top-heavy are Serie A wage bills, and why?
Serie A’s wage structure is top-heavy. Inter and Juventus alone pay about €291 million gross, roughly 24% of the league’s €1.23 billion total, and only four clubs cross the €100 million mark.
The chart below compares each club’s estimated gross payroll for 2026/27.
1. The Tax Shock: What Ending the ‘Decreto Crescita’ Changed
For several seasons, the Decreto Crescita was Italian football’s secret weapon. Players moving to Italy who had not been tax-resident there in the previous two years paid income tax on only half their salary. On our rough estimate, a €6 million net salary cost a club about €8 million gross under the scheme.
The break ended for new arrivals from 1 January 2024. Now, offering a new foreign signing €6 million net costs a club roughly €11 million gross (our estimate), about €3 million a year more per player, which makes Serie A clubs less competitive in bidding for top foreign earners.
2. The Como 1907 Anomaly: Indonesia’s Richest Family Enter Calcio
The single biggest outlier in Italian football finance is Como 1907. When the Indonesian Hartono family, owners of the Djarum tobacco group, took over in 2019, Como were in Italy’s fourth division; they returned to Serie A in 2024. Michael Bambang Hartono died in March 2026, and AP put the brothers’ combined fortune at more than $43.8 billion.
Como’s estimated gross wage bill is €62.45 million, the ninth-highest in Serie A and nearly twice Genoa’s (€34.10 million). After eight matches they are fifth with 17 points, ahead of Juventus and Napoli.
3. Atalanta & Bologna: Mid-Sized Payrolls, Big Ambitions
Atalanta and Bologna show what mid-sized payrolls can achieve. Atalanta (€73.77M gross), who won the UEFA Europa League in 2024, spend about half what Inter or Juventus spend on wages.
Bologna (€65.00M gross) have the eighth-biggest payroll. Neither club has started 2026/27 well: after eight matches Atalanta are 11th and Bologna 13th, below their payroll rank.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Which Serie A club has the highest wage bill in 2026/27?
Inter have the highest estimated gross wage bill in Serie A at €145.82 million for 2026/27, just ahead of Juventus (€145.52 million). These are Calcio e Finanza estimates published in September 2026, excluding bonuses.
Why do Italian clubs report salaries in ‘Net’ instead of ‘Gross’?
In Italian football, contract talks traditionally focus on take-home pay (stipendio netto), and the club pays the taxes and contributions (IRPEF, INPS and regional surcharges) on top. As a rough FootGoal estimate, the gross cost of a top earner is about 1.8 to 1.9 times the net figure.
Which Serie A clubs have the smallest wage bills?
Frosinone (€15.27 million) and Lecce (€16.18 million) have the smallest estimated gross wage bills in 2026/27, followed by Monza (€22.94 million). Frosinone and Monza were promoted in 2026, along with Venezia.
What happened to the ‘Decreto Crescita’ tax break for Serie A clubs?
The Decreto Crescita tax break ended for new arrivals from 1 January 2024. It let people who had not been tax-resident in Italy for the previous two years pay income tax on only half their salary. On our rough estimate, its loss raises the gross cost of a new foreign signing by around 40%.
How does Como 1907 afford Serie A wages?
Como 1907 are owned by the family behind Indonesia’s Djarum group. AP put the Hartono brothers’ combined fortune at more than $43.8 billion in March 2026, when Michael Bambang Hartono died. That backing supports an estimated €62.45 million gross payroll in 2026/27, the ninth-highest in Serie A.
Methodology
Wage bills (2026/27): Calcio e Finanza‘s estimates of each club’s gross player wages, published on 7 September 2026, excluding bonuses. They are estimates, not club-published figures. Shares of the league total (€1,227.65 million, the sum of the 20 clubs) and the ‘places above/below wage rank’ column are our calculations. Table: points and positions after eight matches, as of 25 October 2026. Gross vs. net: the 1.8–1.9× multiplier and the Decreto Crescita examples are rough FootGoal estimates based on the 43% top IRPEF rate plus surcharges; actual costs vary by contract. We don’t show net figures per club because no reliable 2026/27 source publishes them.
Sources
The figures in this article come from these sources:
- Calcio e Finanza: Serie A, gli stipendi 2026/27 (7 September 2026) — estimated gross wage bills for all 20 clubs, bonuses excluded.
- Wikipedia: 2026–27 Serie A — the 20 clubs (Venezia, Frosinone and Monza promoted) and the table after eight matches.
- AP (via News4Jax): Michael Bambang Hartono dies at 86 (19 March 2026) — the Hartono brothers’ combined fortune and Como’s 2019 takeover and 2024 promotion.
