Fornarolling in the Money

Recent reports linking Golden Boot Bruno Fornaroli with Sydney FC paint the picture that all is not well at Melbourne City.  The attempt to sign the Uruguayan from Sydney was speculative at best, with the City Football Group unwilling to release the goal scoring maestro to a fellow A-League club.

Reports of Fornaroli asking for $2.7 million per season are nothing more than laughable with his agent watching far too many episodes of Entourage and under the influence of some Ari Gold negotiating skills.  The truth of the matter is Fornaroli had a very good season but cannot demand the same type of wage afforded for the likes of Alessandro Del Piero.  Fornaroli played to an AAMI Park stadium that struggled to reach 35% capacity for the majority of home games and despite his phenomenal scoring record struggled to pull in any decent crowd numbers. 

Melbourne City has gone back to their star player and offered a significant wage increase to around $1 million a season (from a reported $200,000 this season) and this has been flatly rejected by agent and player.  This offer would see Fornaroli become a deserved marquee player and vital cog in any City title challenge. 

There is no denying the talent of Fornaroli but one also has to consider the current status of his current club.  Although having rich owners, Melbourne City is still struggling to attract a core group of supporters and a financial following that would justify such a wage increase.  City Football Group aren’t in the position of just handing out big money contracts just because they are capable of meeting such demands, one has to be fiscally responsible for the future of the football club. 

Fornaroli will find his second season in the league much tougher with clubs now having a solid tactical base to combat his wonderful attacking skills but it’s also increasingly likely he won’t be given the same silver platter experience with midfield wizard Aaron Mooy looking to give European football a second crack. 

With the revolving door in full swing at City the loss of Fornaroli would be a significant blow to the increasingly frustrated supporter base but we must also no player is bigger than the club and Melbourne City will not be held to ransom when talking about the wage demands of individual players. 

Fornaroli remains under contract but we all know how much A-League contracts have meant over the previous 11 seasons.  If Fornaroli isn’t in a Melbourne City shirt next season he will likely never be seen in Australia again.  Ideally Fornaroli will commit to the club and the player will agree to a significant wage increase, but not his pie in the sky number. 

At this early stage of club development we must build not only a strong club culture but a club where players want to come, not a place where a player can only see dollar signs.

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