The Revolutionizer of Transfer Journalism

Fabrizio Romano has achieved cult status with his “Here we Go”. The Italian has created an entirely new branch of sports journalism and now has over 100 million followers across his social media channels. In his talk with Laura Wontorra, he unveils his first transfer, the impact Instagram has had on the industry, the extent of his screen time, and which news has completely surprised him.

These are his best GMPLN quotes.

Fabrizio Romanos' first transfer news was Mauro Icardi going from Sampdoria to Inter. At that time, he received the information from Icardi's agent, whom he had met before in Milan. As this example shows, obtaining information is heavily based on trust and knowing people. So when Fabrizio started his job 14 years ago at the age of 18, it was really not easy for him to get in touch with players or the right people. Especially if there isn’t a relationship with trust. Instagram changed the game, stated Fabrizio, because nowadays players text him information or even ask where their teammates are going or who their new head coach will be. Instagram made it really simple to get in touch with people.

Everything Fabrizio Romano publishes is done by himself. There is no social agency supporting him; his team consists solely of a graphic designer and a videographer. No wonder he describes his phone as his third hand. For him, credibility is key. Back when he started, 90% of all stories in England were fake news, but the industry has undergone significant changes since then. His goal is to be the most reliable source of freely accessible information for his followers every day - even if that means spending up to 18 hours a day in front of a screen.

Besides credibility, being fast is the most important factor in this business. That is really challenging when you have to distribute a big information in various ways. Whereas X is all about pace, on Instagram it’s more about quality, with a good picture in addition to the text. YouTube (long form) and TikTok (short form) have different requirements as well - always pressured by time. It’s a constant game of being the first one. Or as Fabrizio describes it: „90 percent of my work is getting information and publishing it a minute later.“

When Thomas Tuchel replaced Julian Nagelsmann as coach at FC Bayern Munich in the spring of 2023, it was Fabrizio Romano who was the first to receive and publish the information. At that point, not even Julian Nagelsmann knew about his dismissal - he found out about it from the Italian, just like millions of other people. For the journalist himself, the information came out of nowhere at the time, but he was once again the first to know about it. A few days later, German football legend Lothar Matthäus expressed his incomprehension as to how an Italian journalist could have known about this before the club's German coach had been informed.