A Huge Fall from Grace: Former €100 Million Striker Belotti, Now 32, Set for a Move to Serie B

According to Tuttosport, 32-year-old Belotti has reached an agreement with Serie B club Modena and is preparing to sign a one-year short-term contract after undergoing a medical. Di Marzio provided a more specific timeline: the player will first arrive in Modena and complete the medical process the following day. After his contract with Cagliari expired this summer, he became a free agent. Putting together a striker who was once given a €100 million release clause by Torino with a “one-year Serie B short deal” creates a striking contrast.

Belotti was not originally developed as a center-forward. In AlbinoLeffe's academy, he tried midfield and wing positions, neither of which worked particularly well, before moving to striker and developing his penalty-box instincts. At the end of the 2011/12 season, he made eight first-team Serie B appearances and scored two goals. In 2012/13, he became the team's attacking focal point, scoring 12 goals in 30 matches and attracting Palermo's attention. He moved to Sicily in the summer of 2013, but spent most of his Palermo period as a substitute and failed to meet expectations.

In 2015, Torino bought him from Palermo for €7.5 million, but his start was not smooth. In the first half of the 2015/16 season, he scored only once in five months. In January 2016, Ventura placed him behind Immobile as a second striker, and he scored 11 goals in the second half of the campaign, including the goal against Juventus that ended Buffon's 973-minute Serie A clean-sheet streak. After Immobile left, Mihajlovic used him as the lone striker in a 4-3-3 system, and he exploded in the 2016/17 season: 26 goals and five assists in 35 Serie A matches, two goals in three Coppa Italia games, and around 28 goals in 38 total appearances. That summer, Ventura took charge of the Italy national team, Belotti became part of the core national-team rotation, and Torino renewed his contract with a high release clause.

Torino owner Cairo took a firm public stance, saying he would not sell below €100 million. In the 2017 summer window, Milan showed the strongest interest in Belotti. Media reports suggested an €80 million offer, followed by a €50 million proposal plus Cutrone, but Torino rejected both. Cairo later told the media that the €100 million release clause applied to foreign buyers, while different terms existed for Serie A clubs. Real Madrid and Barcelona also appeared on lists of potential ideal strikers at the time, but there were no formal offers, only names mentioned in striker rumors. The result was that he missed the best window to join a top club between ages 23 and 25; Torino neither received a major transfer fee nor allowed him to leave the club's system.

Across seven years at Torino, he made 251 appearances and scored 113 goals, leaving as a free agent rather than generating a transfer fee. In the summer of 2022, he joined Roma to reunite with Mourinho, and many expected “the Bull” to revive his career, but he scored only 10 goals in 68 matches over two seasons. Later at Roma, Lukaku's arrival further reduced his opportunities as a central striker. In January 2024, he was loaned to Fiorentina, where a short spell of 22 appearances, six goals, and two assists did not restore him as a first-choice striker. In summer 2024, he joined Como for around €4.5 million, scoring once in 11 Serie A appearances that season, while his Transfermarkt valuation dropped to around the €5 million level. In the winter of 2025, he went on loan to Benfica, and that summer he joined Cagliari as a free agent, hoping to rediscover his scoring form in a lower-pressure environment.

The Cagliari spell directly changed his path at age 32. In September 2025, he suffered a left anterior cruciate ligament tear. Some Italian media reported the injury happened in September, while some records list it as occurring during the match against Sassuolo on September 27. After surgery, he was sidelined for a long period and only returned in April 2026. After his comeback, he played eight Serie A matches and scored two goals during the season, while another statistical source counted 10 matches and two goals, with the difference mainly coming from cup competitions or different statistical methods. Cagliari originally wanted to extend his short contract, but sporting director Accardi later confirmed that deeper examinations showed his knee recovery would take much longer than expected and involved uncertain risks, so the renewal was cancelled. His contract expired at the end of June 2026, he became a free agent, and no top-flight offers arrived.

Modena's decision to take him on is straightforward. Tuttosport reported a contract of about one year, while Football Italia added that he would arrive in Modena on Monday evening, undergo a medical on Tuesday, and join team training if he passed. Tuttosport also reported a one-year short deal pending medical approval. L'Equipe's statistics coverage also mentioned Sampdoria's interest at the same time, but Modena moved faster. For Belotti, this is one of the few options after leaving Cagliari as a free agent that offers a short contract and allows his knee condition to be assessed first.

Looking at the timeline, the decline was not caused by one specific match. The 2016/17 season produced 26 Serie A goals in 35 appearances; in 2017 his release clause reached €100 million; after joining Roma in 2022 he scored 10 goals in 68 matches; at Como in 2024 he scored once in 11 games; at Cagliari in 2025 he scored two goals in eight matches and suffered a serious ACL injury; in 2026 he moved to Modena on a one-year Serie B contract. Between those stages were a Fiorentina loan, a Benfica loan, multiple coaching changes, and different tactical systems. Strikers rely heavily on shooting frequency and trust inside the box, and when those decrease, both statistics and market value fall.

The hesitation from top clubs at the time was not entirely unreasonable. A €100 million valuation was high for a striker who had not proven himself consistently in Champions League knockout matches and whose success relied heavily on Torino's lone-striker role and the Ventura/Mihajlovic systems. Milan were willing to negotiate but would not pay €100 million in cash, while Torino rejected lower fees or loan deals with purchase options. Cairo later told La Gazzetta dello Sport that Milan had tried a loan-to-buy approach, but he believed a striker who scored 26 goals should not be handled that way. By the time Belotti left Roma as a free agent in 2022, his age, knee workload, and tactical fit at Roma were already far removed from his Torino peak, and buyers would no longer value him as a “€100 million prospect.”

Cagliari director's statement that recovery time was “much longer than expected” is crucial. After an ACL tear, a 32-year-old striker needs time to regain explosiveness, stopping ability, physical battles, and shooting ability. He only returned in April, became a free agent in June, and went to Serie B for a medical in September, without a complete preseason or consistent run of matches in between. Modena's one-year contract effectively means “prove the knee can handle football first, then discuss the next step,” rather than continuing to chase the paper value he had during his Torino peak.

He scored 12 goals in 30 Serie B matches for AlbinoLeffe early in his career, then moved through Palermo, Torino, Roma, Fiorentina, Como, Benfica, and Cagliari before returning to Serie B with Modena. The route is not simply “going back to where he started.” Torino turned him into a lone striker and unlocked his production and statistics. After leaving Torino, he more often encountered rotation roles, two-striker systems, emergency loan situations, and reduced workloads after injury. Without continuous chances as the main striker, his goal totals fell from double-digit production earlier in his career to 10 goals across two Roma seasons, one goal in 11 Como matches, and two goals in eight Cagliari matches.

Transfer fees also show the curve of his career. Palermo to Torino for €7.5 million, Torino's €100 million valuation without a sale, Roma signing him as a free agent, a Fiorentina loan, Como paying €4.5 million, a Benfica loan, and Cagliari signing him as a free agent before cancelling a renewal after medical checks. His Transfermarkt valuation dropped from expectations around the €40 million level in 2017 to around €5 million in 2024. His commercial reputation remains, but his ability to generate a major transfer fee belongs to a different market now.

Modena are not a major club and do not need to market a “revived €100 million striker.” Serie B needs experienced forwards who can occupy defenders. Belotti still has the movement, physicality, and penalty-area instincts from his Torino days, but his 2025/26 knee condition is the key factor determining whether he can play. Di Marzio's report only mentioned a free transfer, medical, and short contract, without details about high wages or guaranteed starting status. Tuttosport reported a one-year deal, and for a 32-year-old striker returning from injury, this type of contract is more like a low-risk trial for both sides.