Fabio Paratici wants to replicate his work at Tottenham in Italy.
Fabio Paratici has offered a candid and revealing insight into his time at Tottenham Hotspur, describing the club’s operations as comparable to the NBA in their sophistication and expressing a desire to replicate what he experienced at Hotspur Way during his new role at Fiorentina.
The 53-year-old enjoyed two spells at Tottenham. His first began in the summer of 2021 before ending abruptly in April 2023 when an appeal against a 30-month ban for financial irregularities connected to his time at Juventus was rejected by Italy’s highest sports court. Following a plea bargain accepted in September 2025, Paratici returned to north London as co-sporting director alongside Johan Lange, only to leave three months later to join Fiorentina in February.
Paratici was effusive about the standards he encountered in England. Paratici said (h/t Football London):
“The Premier League is as good as the NBA. I’ll just tell you that the head of human resources evaluated 50 resumes for my assistant. Everything there is perfect, and of a superior standard.”
“They run more, but above all they run the ball faster. They have to learn to pass better for that, and the training pitches are always mowed and wet. Technique comes naturally that way.”
Infrastructure is a key aspect for player development
It is a simple but telling detail. The conditions in which players train directly influence the technical habits they develop, and Tottenham’s infrastructure clearly left a lasting impression on someone who has operated at the highest levels of European football.
Paratici also offered a rare window into his recruitment philosophy, one that blends data with instinct in a way that challenges the purely algorithmic approach becoming increasingly prevalent across the game. Paratici continued:
“I study every day of my life, while in Italy, everything is empirical. The numbers give me the names of the three best players for the position I’m looking for, then the choice is mine, and it also depends on gut feeling. Intuition is crucial.”
On his ban, Paratici was defiant, stating:
“I don’t feel guilty of anything. It was a very difficult experience because the criminal investigation lasted five and a half years, and it took strength to sustain it. I was convicted for a technical-financial strategy that involved many internationals. An unprecedented accounting principle was applied, which I’m waiting to review.”
Whatever one makes of the circumstances surrounding his departure, Paratici’s admiration for the infrastructure and standards at Hotspur Way is genuine and unambiguous. For a club currently fighting relegation, it serves as a reminder that the foundations beneath the chaos remain considerably stronger than the results on the pitch have suggested.