An explosive dive into the secret nights of Serie A. An investigation by the Milan prosecutor's office has revealed the existence of a vast network of private parties involving escorts, luxury hotels, and party drugs, frequented by nearly 70 footballers in the Italian league. A scandal that is already shaking the entire Italian football world.

Italian football is no stranger to turmoil. For decades, the peninsula has lived to the rhythm of sporting triumphs as much as resounding scandals. Doping in the 1990s, the Calciopoli affair that shook the entire league, and the scandalous escapades of former AC Milan president and former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, embroiled in the "bunga bunga" party scandal. Even the legendary stands of San Siro have recently been tainted by investigations into murky links between certain ultra groups and criminal networks. Almost every decade, Serie A seems to plunge into a new gray area. But this time, it's neither an arbitration case nor a financial scandal that's rocking Italian football. It's a sprawling investigation involving escorts, clandestine parties, recreational drugs, and dozens of professional players that threatens to tarnish the image of the Italian league.

The case, revealed by the Milan prosecutor's office, describes a clandestine system that allegedly operated for several years behind the scenes of Milan's gilded nightlife. At the heart of the investigation is an event management company based in the city's suburb of Cinisello Balsamo, suspected of organizing private parties for a select clientele of professional athletes, businesspeople, and celebrities. The highly lucrative concept included a comprehensive package that began with a dinner show at a chic restaurant in Milan's "best" district, continued in the city's most exclusive clubs, and often ended in luxury hotel rooms with escorts. According to investigators, as reported by the ANSA news agency and the newspaper La Repubblica, nearly 70 Serie A players attended these parties, spending a total of around €200,000 in this illegal scheme, according to Calcio e Finanza. Some of them reportedly play for Inter Milan and AC Milan, as well as Juventus, Sassuolo, and Hellas Verona. For now, their identities remain hidden in the court documents, as the magistrates consider them not to be criminally prosecuted. But the scale of the scheme and the notoriety of the potential clients are already enough to send shockwaves through Italian football.

A large, clandestine, illegal network

The investigation conducted by the Guardia di Finanza (Italian Financial Police) reveals a perfectly structured organization. At its head was a couple suspected of having orchestrated the entire operation through the company Ma.De Milano. The two main suspects, Emanuele Buttini and Deborah Ronchi, now under house arrest, allegedly oversaw every detail of these lavish parties. During their arrest, a seizure of over €1.2 million was carried out. Drivers were responsible for transporting the young women to the meeting places, public relations managers selected the clients, and partner clubs received precise instructions before each event. The communications intercepted by investigators reveal a direct and almost banal style of language. "The girls you have at home, take them to Just," reads one conversation referring to the famous Just Cavalli nightclub. Other messages mention meetings at the ME Milan Il Duca hotel, a five-star establishment located near the Piazza della Repubblica. According to investigators, this is where some of the encounters allegedly took place after the parties. Some women interviewed stated that even during the lockdown and the Covid-19 pandemic, this large clandestine network continued to operate. In its extensive investigation, the newspaper Tuttosport even mentions some underage girls at these parties where alcohol and drugs flowed freely.

Through wiretaps, police also uncovered the extent of the network of clients and workers involved. More than a hundred young women, Italian but also Brazilian, Colombian, and from Eastern Europe, were believed to have been associated with the organization. Some were hired simply as "image girls," tasked with escorting clients to VIP tables. Others accepted paid sexual favors. A key witness, a former participant in the parties, told magistrates that the women generally received half of the amount paid by the clients. The rest was kept by the organizers. She specifically mentioned the case of a Colombian woman who, in 2022, was allegedly forced to accept a paid sexual encounter for a thousand euros, of which she was only paid five hundred. The young women sometimes lived in the agency's own apartments in Cinisello Balsamo and had to pay rent for their rooms. The events were advertised on Instagram via a page called Made Luxury Concierge, followed by many Serie A footballers, as reported by Gazzetta dello Sport on Tuesday. Considerable sums were paid for their parties and services, then laundered by the company itself.

The court documents also reveal the excesses that accompanied these jet-set sports parties, which were sometimes held in Mykonos, Greece. In some hotel rooms or private lounges, participants allegedly consumed nitrous oxide, nicknamed the "balloon drug." This substance produces rapid euphoria and leaves virtually no trace in doping tests. "We're at the Duca, we need balloons," reads a message relayed in Gazzetta dello Sport and Sportmediaset. The organization immediately replies, "I'll send someone." In another exchange, a client asks if an escort can be found for "a Formula 1 driver friend who's arriving tonight." But one of the most disturbing passages of the investigation concerns a conversation between a young woman and a member of the network. "Don't tell anyone, but I took a test." “I’ve been pregnant for over three weeks,” she wrote, before specifying that the encounter dated back to an evening spent with a footballer whose name has been removed from the case file. Behind the bright lights of the Milanese night, the investigation thus unveils a parallel world where money, celebrity, and secrecy intersect. A world that now threatens to cast a new shadow over Italy’s most passionate league.