Francesco Camarda turns 16 today, and there is a lot of talk at the moment surrounding his future with AC Milan and his first professional contract.
As La Gazzetta dello Sport reports, from today Camarda can sign his first professional deal. The big names in Europe are watching him, but Milan are confident because the striker has supported the Rossoneri since he was born and feels a strong attachment.
This year he also watched a game in the Curva Sud, choosing to cheer for the colours he has worn since he was a kid. Camarda has a past as a record-breaking striker, with about five hundred goals in the various stages of the youth sector, meaning there is a fair bit of hype around him.
At 16 there is a certain carefree attitude and an acceptance that mistakes will be made which can be learnt through, but Camarda lives in a sort of ‘bubble’. Milan support him, pamper him and keep him away from curious reporters to protect him. All this while he, helped by his family, keeps a low profile.
In a separate report, La Gazzetta writes that Camarda will not be able to move to the Premier League until he is 18 if he does decide that England is the best place for his future, because Brexit regulations have changed things.
An emblematic case is that of Claudio Echeverri, a River Plate playmaker purchased by Manchester City and left on loan in Argentina until 2024. He will arrive in Manchester when he is 18 years old, and thus Camarda too could only move in 2026 even with a pre-contract.
Around Europe, however, Borussia Dortmund are also interested and they could sign him this year. Camarda boasts two professional appearances against Fiorentina and Frosinone, and he is the youngest debutant in the history of Italian football (15 years and 11 months).
He is currently on a youth contract, one that he can be on until he is 19, but if he were to collect another eight senior games he would have to get a professional deal.
In short, the Camarda issue is thornier than it seems. At the moment, a move to England at 16 is technically impossible. Manchester City, Chelsea, Arsenal and any other English team, from the Premier League to League Two, would have to sign him and then leave him in Italy until he turns 18.
In the EU it is different. Article 19 of the ‘FIFA Regulations on Status and Transfer of Players’ attributes five exceptions to the transfer of a minor from abroad. The first: the footballer’s parents move for a reason not related to football.
The second: the transfer takes place within the European Union and the player is over 16 years old. The third: the player lives no more than 50km from the border and the club is located no further than 50km from the border.
Another: the footballer has left his country for humanitarian reasons or is moving to follow a student exchange programme. Finally, there is a further exception called the ‘5-year rule’, for the application of which the foreign minor footballer must have lived continuously for at least five years in the country in which he intends to be registered.
The best thing he can do right now is stay at home, keep his head down and work hard!
Everything else will come with time and patience
Sometimes the press like creating sensation, this boy needs to put his head down and work, Milan is his reality, his present and future, if he diverts from this path, he will not last long, only in Milan can he achieve what is destined for him..