Anyone who has followed football's biggest side show for a bit longer will remember just how dull it could get when the ball stopped rolling for weeks during the summer and winter breaks. You simply waited for the football-free spell to end and for the action to start again.
There was a transfer market back then too, of course. And the buzz when your club unveiled an exciting new signing felt much the same as it usually does today. Even so, the market itself and, above all, the way it was covered in the media looked completely different.
Big clubs like Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Manchester United could still spring new signings on their fans without warning. The daily flood of rumours did not yet exist in the same way. Things moved more slowly and far more quietly than they do now. Or at least they did until a certain Fabrizio Romano emerged around 15 years ago and changed not just the reporting around football, but above all the transfer market that surrounds it.
.jpg?format=pjpg&quality=60&auto=webp&width=380)
Fabrizio RomanoFabrizio Romano makes a name for himself as a transfer journalist
In 2011, Romano first made headlines when, as an 18-year-old up-and-coming journalist, he published exclusive information on the move of the then La Masia talent Mauro Icardi from Barcelona to Sampdoria. It was Romano's first big "Here we go", even if he did not call it that at the time. Countless more followed.
Two years later, when Icardi left Genoa and joined Inter Milan, the Naples-born Italian again broke the news first. Romano got the information from Icardi's agent, whom he had previously met in Milan. That allowed him to report the completed deal well before the established media and quickly build a reputation in his homeland.
From 2012, Romano carved out a role at Sky Italia and worked under the wing of transfer expert Gianluca Di Marzio, who was already hugely well known in the industry at the time. Until he went freelance in 2018, he spent much of that period building his own network of agents, club officials and players. That network would later become the backbone of his transfer journalism model, one built on speed and exclusivity.
By 2019 at the latest, Romano had made his final breakthrough. He started posting consistently in English to reach a bigger audience across different platforms. His now legendary "Here we go" for a completed transfer became a global internet phenomenon and the Italian's trademark.
Thanks to his outstanding contacts with players, advisers and officials, Romano often had a knack for calling upcoming moves. Fans quickly came to see him as the most reliable source on the transfer market. When a "Here we go" came from Fabrizio, you assumed it was happening. Many trusted him more than some established media outlets.
Now he runs his own channels with tens of millions of followers and works, among others, for the English Guardian and the US company CBS Sports. His fame has reached the point where professional clubs regularly hire him to reveal new signings in official social media announcement videos. According to his own statements, players often ask him in direct messages where their team-mates are moving or who their new head coach will be.
Getty ImagesFabrizio Romano's posts on Reddit are blocked
Since this summer, though, the mood has shifted. Demand for high-quality transfer journalism still seems as strong as ever, so the conditions should be ideal for Romano to keep adding to his status as an almost infallible transfer guru. But the Italian no longer commands the same unquestioned standing in public. Criticism of transfer journalism itself is growing, and Romano's methods in particular are facing stronger resistance.
For some time now, critics have accused the Italian of putting speed ahead of clean journalistic standards. In the chase for reach and more clicks, Romano has been willing to post the result of important matches minutes before the final whistle, only to delete the post again if a late goal changes things. He also faced fierce criticism over his handling of Liverpool striker Diogo Jota's tragic death, after putting out countless posts and drawing accusations that he wanted to use the tragedy to boost his own reach and income.
At the end of July this year, Reddit even banned Romano because, in the view of the moderators, he "uses questionable journalistic practices". On the Reddit Soccer subpage, posts by the Italian can no longer be used as a source. The platform says the move also reflects the "growing dissatisfaction" of many users with Romano.
There are moral concerns too. The statement says: "Among other things, Romano gave a platform to Mason Greenwood, who came under criticism because of rape allegations." England star Greenwood was arrested in January 2022 on suspicion of rape, assault and making death threats. His club at the time, Manchester United, suspended him. About a year later, in February 2023, the charges were dropped.
Transfer of Yan Diomande triggers fierce wave of criticism of Romano
Then there is the recent public row between Romano and Sky transfer journalist Florian Plettenberg. The reason is the imminently upcoming move of RB Leipzig's Yan Diomande to Real Madrid. Romano had already posted his obligatory "Here we go" many days ago, suggesting the transfer was already done. Plettenberg flatly denied that and accused the Italian of presenting other people's exclusive information as his own.
When Romano then published private messages between the two and accused the Sky reporter of hypocritical behaviour, the situation escalated. "Maybe I should share messages from a few years ago in which you asked me: 'How can I increase my number of followers?' or 'Your work is my motivation'," Romano wrote on his X account. Plettenberg replied: "A sad development. Unlike you, I will treat our conversations confidentially. You used to be a role model for many people. For me too. Unfortunately, you are no longer that for me. I am simply grateful that I can myself be a role model for others."
Getty ImagesFabrizio Romano? "That's just not how it is"
On Wednesday, RB Leipzig sporting managing director Marcel Schäfer also backed up the idea that Plettenberg had hit a nerve with his criticism of Romano. "I understand that it is a hot topic," he explained on the sidelines of the Bulls' training camp in Austria: "But fundamentally I do not want to go into talks with the respective clubs in any greater detail. If we had something to announce, then we would do so."
Schäfer, though, could not resist a little swipe, aimed squarely at Romano's recent reporting. "What is clear is that one or another so-called transfer expert had already reported seven to ten days ago that something was 'done' or 'Here we go'. That's just not how it is. These things involve talks with different parties."
Romano's role has also helped drag modern football further from its true core, the game on the pitch, and towards a race between transfer journalists to sell information on their own platforms as quickly as possible.
At the very least, the public criticism of Romano suggests the trend may be moving away from blindly consuming this kind of news and towards a more questioning, higher-quality approach. Time will tell whether the Italian transfer guru takes the accusations on board and reflects on his own methods, or whether the aura around Romano's omniscience has finally faded for good.