The Serie A wants to return to the forefront of world soccer. Here we review the most important signings of the soccer of the Italian League

There is no doubt: the arrival of the Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo to the Italian League is a movement that can give back the so-called Serie A the interest he enjoyed in the 80s and 90s, until that at the beginning of the century was relegated by the League of Spain and the Premier League of England. Only Juventus has remained afloat in the European elite on behalf of Italy, and it is precisely the 'Vecchia Signora' that remains with the services of the former Real Madrid striker. This with the aim of winning the UEFA Champions League, but also generating a positive collateral effect in a championship that dominates without rivals seven seasons ago.

Leer en español: Cristiano Ronaldo: ¿Podrá devolverle a la Liga de Italia el interés del que gozó en los 80 y 90?

The movement is similar to the one used in emerging leagues such as the Major League Soccer (MLS) of the United States or the Chinese Super League, which is none other than incorporating a renowned figure to gradually capture the interest of other figures they are interested in playing there, and of course, that of the investors.

After becoming the most expensive signing in the history of the Italian league thanks to an operation of 105 million euros, according to La Vanguardia, CR7 not only poses the focus on the 'calcium' team but also exceeds big names and hirings from the past in this tournament. Among these are Gonzalo Higuaín (90 million in 2016), Hernán Crespo (55 million in 2000), Gianluigi Buffon (54.2 million in 2001) and Gaizka Mendieta (48 million in 2001), reports La Vanguardia. Other important contracts, but less striking than those mentioned were those of Christian Vieri, Liliam Thuram or Pavel Nedved.

It must add a curiosity related to this signing, and it is the age of its protagonist. According to the newspaper Sport, the Portuguese make history at 33 years, because it is not common for a team to pay such amount for a player of that age, in fact, is the first time it happens. In 2009, Cristiano Ronaldo signed with Real Madrid and did it for 94 million euros, and with only 24 years.

Will the brightness of the 80s return?

The portal Vavel recalled in an article the players who made the Italian League the most prestigious of the 80s. First came Michel Platini, Michael Laudrup, Zico, Falcao, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, Socrates, Daniel Alberto Passarella, Daniel Bertoni and of course Diego Armando Maradona, top players of those years.

The 1987-88 season is well remembered for the mass media it was. The arrival of Silvio Berlusconi as president of the club 'rossonero' brought with it signings of great impact like the one that today represents Cristiano Ronaldo. The Dutch duo of Ruud Gullit and Marco van Basten led a new era in the seven-time European champion club.

But they were not the only ones, because in those years landed in Italy German Rudi Voller with Inter, the Brazilian Careca with Napoli, the Brazilian Dunga with the Pisa and even Hugo Maradona, the younger brother of Diego, with Ascoli. A year later they added to the list of 'the best league in the world' at that time, names like the Dutch Frank Rijkaard, the Germans Lothar Matthaus and Andreas Brehme, the Brazilian Alemao, the Argentine Claudio Caniggia and the Spanish Víctor Muñoz.

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Why did the investment interest go down?

Infobae says that the Italians were careless in terms of signings after the coronation of the 'azzurra' team at the 2006 World Cup in Germany. The media details that the Serie A clubs began to see how the leagues of England, Spain, Germany, and France not only developed talents but also invested in renowned players. For Italy, there was no business other than income from television concepts. Therefore, they forgot to sell players, to sponsor the local area and to strengthen marketing. Like the players of the National Team, foreign referents began to age and the financial crisis of 2008 ended up stalling them. A year later, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo played in Spain.

In 2014, the Italian Football Federation revealed an economic analysis that showed the losses of Serie A clubs, which accounted 525.5 million euros annually, adds Infobae. It was as well as foreign investors began to look towards Italy thanks to the requests of the clubs. For that reason, at the moment the Rome belongs to American magnates, and the Milan and the Inter to Chinese consortiums. Will it be able to change today with Cristiano Ronaldo? It's not sure, but that there are good prospects, there are.

LatinAmerican Post | Onofre Zambrano

Translated from "Cristiano Ronaldo: ¿Podrá devolverle a la Liga de Italia el interés del que gozó en los 80 y 90?"