Transfer fees are determined by wages, contract length, age, position, club need, budget and the player's development stage. Clubs often pay a premium for players with physical upside who could improve technically; the reverse development path is rarer. Players can continue to improve physically until around age 23, with individual differences in maturation and development pathways. System fit and opportunity can dramatically change a player's output and market value. Smaller clubs with limited resources must prioritise recruitment strategy and budgeting to compete with wealthier rivals and maximise player value.
Plenty of factors go into determining a transfer fee: wages, length of contract, age, position, whether a club has a need to acquire a player or has a need to offload, what the budget is, and how far along the player is in his development. Galleni says there's a premium for upside: an exceedingly athletic player might be able to improve technically and therefore be worth the investment. (The opposite -- a very technically gifted player who becomes a better athlete -- is far rarer.)
"Right up until age 23 or so, some players can improve physically, becoming stronger, fitter and quicker," says Galleni. "Some mature faster than others, you have to figure out where they are on their development pathway." Beyond that, he cites Mateo Retegui, a player Genoa acquired from Argentina's Boca Juniors for €12m in 2023-24, transferred to Atalanta for €22m plus €3m in bonuses a year later and has now moved to Al-Qadsiah in Saudi Arabia for €60m, plus €7m in bonuses. It's not as if Retegui, in the space of two seasons, has improved fivefold.
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