The story behind Fabrizio Romano and “HERE WE GO”

The rise of the most well known football journalist

By: Lucas Gonzalez

HERE WE GO. That is the sentence that echoes across the football social media world every transfer window. You have probably seen it before, maybe on Instagram, Twitter, or even Youtube, but where does it actually come from?

The man responsible for that catch phrase is Fabrizio Romano. Born in Naples in 1993, he has recently consolidated himself as one of the most renowned transfer market specialists in the world, mainly due to the fact that he is rarely ever wrong. In an interview with Web Summit, Romano states that his first interest in the transfer market was the result of always wanting to know more about the sport he loves, football. He mentions that 10 years ago, people were never able to hear the “breaking news” of a transfer, and always had to wait for the actual moment of the transfer, either by reading it in the newspaper or seeing it in a TV show. Romano was determined to change that, as not only he wanted to let the world see the breaking news moment, but also because he wanted to share minor details such as contract length, fees paid, as well as other factors involved in a transfer.

However, Fabrizio Romano wasn't always as well known as he is now. In fact, the whole story starts with a single phone call from an agent with a seemingly fantastic player in Barcelona’s academy (La Masia), who wanted to approach the player. Romano, who at the time was 17 and working for a small newspaper in Italy, didn't even know this agent had his phone number. Despite this, he decided to write some rumours about that certain player, who eventually left Barcelona, moved to Sampdoria, and finally landed at Internazionale. The player’s name? Mauro Icardi. From that point on, Romano started dedicating the following 6-7 years of his life observing the transfer market and building connections, something that to this day he claims is the most important part of his job.

Fabrizio Romano, although known for a few famous transfers like Cristiano Ronaldo to Al-Nassr or Lionel Messi to PSG, but in his opinion, one specific transfer changed his life. Bruno Fernandes to Manchester United. At the time, Romano only worked in the Italian transfer market, but with this transfer, he began to blow up. Slowly but surely, thanks to the rise of Instagram, he started getting in touch with the players themselves, who wanted insight as to what was happening in the market, or wanted help to leave their club. Eventually, Romano was so dedicated to his job that his phone’s daily screen time was up to an alarming 17 hours and 37 minutes in a week.

At the end of the day, Fabrizio Romano is just another guy who really likes the transfer market, and dedicates his life to it. With massive credibility and power in his hands, he has rapidly risen to the top of the sports transfer market in general. If Fabrizio Romano were to tell me I was a superhero, it is likely that I would actually believe him, since after all, HERE WE GO means that Fabrizio Romano is in business.