Romano's net worth & earnings, Man Utd deal, phone calls per day, lack of sleep

Fabrizio Romano will have his work cut out for him until Monday night as the January transfer window prepares to shut.

Many clubs across the top leagues will be racing against time to sign sought-after players, and the media will also be rushing to keep up with all the changes throughout Deadline Day. One man who always seems to be at the forefront of breaking news is 31-year-old Romano, who is regarded as one of the most in-the-know journalists covering world football.

Some of his biggest exclusive stories include respective moves to Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus for Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, as well as Kai Havertz heading to Premier League club Chelsea and Zinedine Zidane exiting Real Madrid as manager.

The Italian journalist has been a big part of many recent transfer windows in summers and winters gone by, with thousands of fans checking his social media accounts for the latest updates on their favourite clubs and players.

So, what is life like for Romano after building up the audience he has in the footballing world, and how much does he make for his work as a transfer expert? Here, Mirror Football has taken a look at the Italian's biggest moment, his net worth and which unassuming club he roots for in England.

What is Fabrizio Romano's net worth and annual earnings?

Wtfoot estimated Romano's net worth to be around £1.6million (€2m) as of August 2023, while that is believed to have significantly increased since then to make him a multi-millionaire.

Hafi reports that Romano made an estimated £336,000 ($416,000) in just the last month for his work, with an average annual income these days of £3.9million ($4.9m) from all his revenue streams.

This includes earnings from all of his social media accounts, as well as his work with Sky Sports, The Guardian and CBS Sports. The Italian journalist was also included in Forbes' 30 Under-30 list.

When breaking down his income, Romano makes the majority of his monthly earnings from Instagram, where it is estimated he makes between £187,000 ($232k) and £256,000 ($318k) from the social media platform alone each month.

Romano makes a maximum of £24,000 ($30k) from YouTube and £54,000 ($67k) from TikTok every month, as millions of subscribers tune in every week to learn more about the world's transfer dealings.

How many followers does Fabrizio Romano have?

Across all of his social media platforms, Romano has a total of 74.6million followers. The journalist has the most followers on Instagram, with 33.7m waiting to see his next piece of transfer news drop.

His X following is second best, with 23.4m there and 15.1m on TikTok and 2.4m subscribers on YouTube.

Fabrizio Romano's 'big break' thanks to Bruno Fernandes

Romano himself credits his "big break" into top-flight football transfer news to Manchester United midfielder and captain Bruno Fernandes. Speaking to SkrillTV, the journalist believes that the Fernandes transfer from Sporting CP to United in January 2020 was his biggest announcement of his career.

Romano said: "The most exciting deal, because the negotiation between Manchester United and Sporting CP lasted a very long time. When I received the picture of Fernandes' agent on a plane leaving for Manchester, I wrote, ‘here we go!'

"I remember the reaction of the Man United fans – it was something incredible."

His famous term, 'here we go', was coined when he began announcing transfers, and it is something that has become part of his brand over the years – and it is believed he has also trademarked the phrase.

He told Transfermarkt: "I’ve always loved social networks, but never thought about creating such a brand. I’m not really a 'slogan type', if that’s what you want to call it, but prefer other forms of communication.

"That was born by chance. I just wrote it at the end of a tweet and from that moment on I always got the question if a negotiation has the 'here we go' status now. This made my readers happy and I decided to keep it and always give the saying the importance it deserves and only use it when it’s really possible – always taking into account all the variables of the market."

Constant phone calls and 'lack of sleep'

Pulse Sports reports that Romano's job in the transfer window is much like any other journalists – he rarely sleeps and is often working non-stop. Due to his detailed insight into deals and movements among clubs, he is a trusted person for agents and teams to go to with the first whispers of a transfer.

It is understood that Romano makes at least 50 phone calls a day for his work and constantly replies to and receives messages across all social media platforms in the hunt for the next transfer update.

It is also said that the Italian journalist often travels to hotels and stadiums to meet with player agents or sporting directors to obtain more information. He reportedly sleeps for only five hours a day throughout the summer and winter transfer windows to keep up with every deal worldwide.

Fabrizio Romano's 'surprise' team he supports

While many would assume that Romano's favourite team would be a successful Premier League, Serie A or La Liga club, he actually has a soft spot for one particular Championship team.

The transfer expert revealed that he is a fan of Watford FC, due to their Italian ownership in the Pozzo family – and also because he chooses the team every time in video games FIFA (EAFC) and Football Manager.

In a tweet posted in 2019, Romano said: "Honestly... I support Watford because it has been my club in FIFA and Football manager since 15 years! And because of their Italian ownership! I’d like to come back at Vicarage soon. I was watching live the famous match, Watford vs Leicester, Vicarage Road."

SPORTbible also reported in 2024 that Romano visited the home of Watford for a special tour of the stadium, 10 years on from the memorable game that helped the journalist fall in love with the club. It was the anniversary of Troy Deeney's last-gasp winner in the semi-final of the play-offs against Leicester City to send the Hornets to Wembley.

On YouTube, Romano recalled the victory when he said: "It was incredible, the feeling when Troy Deeney scored the goal the last-minute goal after Manuel Almunia saving the penalty in the key match of the play-offs was unbelievable.

"The feeling I had when we had the famous Troy Deeney goal was something unforgettable to me. So that’s how it started for me to support Watford."