Do Italians really do it better? Evidence of migrant pay disparities in the top Italian football league

This study contributes to research on migrant pay disparities by analysing the impact of players’ domestic/foreign status on performance-based-pay offered to professional footballers, to understand if foreign players benefit from a preferential labour market. We used information from publicly available data of 275 footballers who played for two consecutive seasons in the Italian league Serie A. We found that the relationship between previous and current performance was partially mediated by the current salary. This result reinforced earlier findings on the pay-performance relationship, where seasonal performance is particularly relevant. Moreover, our results show that pay discrimination does not indicate a straightforward (dis)advantage for one group, but presents a more complex picture. We have examined possible underlying reasons for these disparities and offered suggestions for further research. We conclude by discussing how clubs and managers could consider incentives to strengthen pay-performance relationships by being sensitive to the complex influence of players’ origins.