Who could leave Recco, and where could they go?

As the complex situation at Pro Recco unfolds, the players (and staff) find themselves between a rock and a hard place.
Spare a thought for these players, many of whom are weighing fierce club loyalty against protecting their livelihoods for themselves and their families. Many would love to stay in Recco, but the reality now is that to make a living, many will have to leave. No matter what they decide, It is certain that all of them will find them in a much worse sitaution then they could even imagine few weeks ago. So what are the options for the players leaving the club?

The departure of Recco's primary financial backer, Gabriele Volpi, has brought about significant changes in the landscape of professional water polo. Historically, Recco set unattainable salary standards for most other clubs, creating a financial benchmark that few could meet. With Volpi's exit, this dynamic is poised for a substantial shift, fundamentally altering market conditions and salary expectations.

Firstly, the absence of Recco's financial prowess means clubs no longer need to compete with Recco's elevated salary standards to attract top-tier players. In this new environment, FTC Telekom and Novi Beograd have emerged as the primary financial powerhouses, setting the new salary benchmarks. Consequently, salaries that once reached €200,000 are expected to decline to around €120,000, while those in the €130,000-€150,000 range might drop to €70,000-€100,000. It is anticipated that only a handful of elite players—approximately ten—will earn slightly above €100,000 annually in the near future.

Secondly, the current market conditions have already stabilized to some extent, with most clubs having allocated their budgets and strategically filled their roster gaps for the upcoming season. The situation is even worse for them considering that one of these well-established teams is FTC. As a result, Recco's players find themselves not only without their previously lucrative incomes but also facing a much more constrained market with diminished bargaining power.

What are the options for Recco players?

From what we have reported already, it is pretty certain Konstantinos Kakaris will return to Jug. Although Jug AO cannot financially offer him anything close to what he earned at Recco, the club can provide numerous high-quality matches in the Regional League and European competitions. Playing in a familiar environment within a competitive team would help him maintain and even elevate his performance level. There is no doubt that he would be a valuable addition to Kobescak’s squad.

On the other hand, Ben Hallock’s future is still uncertain and more complicated. So far, there have been rumors that the American center-forward, who has spent four seasons at Recco, could be linked with Brescia, Savona, and Florentia. One rumor, which might not be true but perfectly explains the above-mentioned situation, suggests that a few months ago, FTC was interested in bringing Hallock for €300,000 per season. He decided to stay with Recco. After that, they bought De Toro for CNAB and now they don’t need any center-forwards. Just imagine how much smaller an offer he would accept today to play for FTC. He is definitely among these ten premium players of the highest value, but the reality is that he will have to accept a significantly lower offer. Italian clubs (Brescia and Savona) still need to show their ambitions in these new circumstances, but looking further, Marseille and CNAB seem like good matches for a season or two. However, it is up to the management of these clubs to secure additional budgets.

We also caught wind of a few rumors about FTC-Telekom making contact with Alvaro Granados—something the player has denied to us. Perhaps the best option for Granados is to return to Spain and Barceloneta and evaluate his options in 12 months.

Recco's captain, Aleksandar Ivovic, since arriving in 2013, has helped the club win 11 national championships, ten Coppa Italias, and five Champions League titles. Two most realistic options for Leka are either to retire or to return to his boyhood and first club, Jadran Herceg Novi, to which the 38-year-old has been linked over the past few years.

What about FTC’s former players Gergo Zalanki and Aaron Younger? It might seem logical for them to move back to FTC, but there is no room in the squad (and budget), especially for Zalanki, where Mandic and Vamos already make up a formidable right side. It is possible that they will end up in some other Hungarian club like Vasas, which would be great for the Hungarian national championship and would create another competitive CHL team.

Earlier in the summer, we published reports in Italy that suggested Giacomo Canella could leave Recco to move to Savona. Recco vehemently denied these rumors, and it seems that transfer won't happen. Instead, Brescia looks like the frontrunner to sign the 27-year-old Italian international, the club he spent two seasons at between 2019-2021. Foreign interest also included Barceloneta, while Olympiacos is reported to have made Canella an offer.

Brescia and their head coach Bovo are well known for making smart investments with affordable players. So it is likely they will try to bring more Italian players from the current Recco roster. After Tesanovic left for Marseille, the return of Marco Del Lungo is a smart move for both sides. Brescia also has eyes on Francesco Condemi and Matteo Iocchi Gratta, but it's quite logical that these young Italian talents will be a priority for Recco to keep. So while the interest is there from other clubs, the young duo might well stay put.

A few days ago, Francesco Di Fulvio publicly stated he would stay at Recco, saying he owed the club a lot. However, Total Waterpolo understands that after conversations with the club's hierarchy, the landscape has dramatically changed since Di Fulvio's words, which he might now need to reconsider. He is still at an age where he could get great financial conditions, but this situation might affect him the most in terms of the financial gap he will face. Maybe this is an unexpected opportunity for him to go abroad and experience some other European league. Powerful striker Andrea Fondelli is in a similar situation.

Nicholas Presciutti has two options, according to multiple reports: either moving east to Trieste or south to Ortigia.

Someone who hasn't really been spoken about in terms of departures is the boss, Sandro Sukno. Total Waterpolo understands that Sukno would be willing to stay at Recco contingent on a core group of his current players remaining, creating a 'new' mixture of experience and youth. He could definitly do a great job with a team where for example, Di Fulvio, Echenique, Fondelli, Condemi, Iocchi Gratta, would stay and help young players to develop.

Taking all the specifics into account, this might be a good opportunity for ambitious clubs with a second plan to take the opportunity to bring in a high-value player for an affordable price. It will be interesting to see if clubs like Vasas, Sabadell, Savona, Mladost, Radnicki, or Primorac can take advantage of this. All in all, with the Olympics right in front of us, many of these questions will surely remain unanswered for the next three weeks.