On 7 September 2026 Venezia sent Junior Ligue on loan to Rijeka and Milan sold Demirel Hodzic to Istra 1961. Two Italian deals towards Croatia on the same day, and only one of them uses up a place on a list almost nobody quotes.
Because loans have a ceiling. In fact they have two, and they count different things.
The Italian number: nine
FIGC official circular 235/A, published on 27 May 2026, sets the registration rules for the 2026/2027 season. On transfers of contract it says:
“In compliance with the provisions of article 103 of the NOIF, in the 2026/2027 season each Serie A, B and C club may acquire on a temporary basis a total of up to nine professional players from FIGC-affiliated clubs and may transfer as many on a temporary basis to FIGC-affiliated clubs.”
Nine in and nine out, and the perimeter is the part that matters: from and to FIGC-affiliated clubs, that is between Italian clubs.
The FIFA number: six
FIFA’s Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players, in article 10, say something different and tighter:
“The following limitations apply from 1 July 2024: a club may have a maximum of six professionals loaned out at any given time during a season; a club may have a maximum of six professionals loaned in at any given time during a season.”
It has not always been six. The same article sets out the transition through which the limit came down:
| Period | Ceiling |
|---|---|
| 1 July 2022 to 30 June 2023 | eight |
| 1 July 2023 to 30 June 2024 | seven |
| from 1 July 2024 | six |
There is then a second limit, which always applies: a maximum of three professionals loaned out to any one club, and three loaned in from any one club, at any time during a season. It is the line written to prevent satellite squads, and it has no age exemption.
The exemption that changes the maths, and that almost nobody quotes
FIFA’s regulations leave some loans out of the count, and the condition is a double one. A loan does not count if:
- it occurs before the end of the season in which the player turns twenty-one, and
- the player is club-trained with the releasing club.
The two conditions apply together, not as alternatives, and this is where almost everybody gets the sum wrong. The second has a precise definition in the regulations: a club-trained player is one registered with his current club for three entire seasons or thirty-six months, continuous or not, between the ages of fifteen and twenty-one.
Translated: a boy raised in-house who goes out to learn the trade does not weigh on the ceiling. A twenty-year-old bought last year and immediately sent out, on the other hand, does.
Today’s case, which is the perfect example
Junior Ligue was born on 21 March 2005. He turned twenty-one during the 2025/26 season, and the loan to Rijeka is dated 7 September 2026, that is in the following season: the first condition is missing.
So is the second: Ligue joined Venezia in January 2026, so he has behind him neither three seasons nor thirty-six months with the club releasing him. His loan counts, and takes one of Venezia’s six international slots.
Hodzic, by contrast, has nothing to do with this list: his is a permanent transfer, and loan ceilings do not touch it. That is why two deals that look alike in the papers are two different things in the registers.
The other lines of article 10, the ones that decide disputes
Three lesser-known rules, and all three end up in litigation:
Duration. A loan lasts at minimum the time between two registration periods and at maximum one year. If a contract provides for more, that clause is not recognised. It can be extended, but the player’s written consent is required.
The ban on passing him on. The receiving club may not sub-loan the player or transfer him permanently to a third club. It is the rule that stops the chain of moves through which, for years, young players were shifted from one country to another.
The early return. If the contract between the player and the new club is terminated unilaterally before the loan expires, the player has the right to return to the releasing club, which must reintegrate him immediately and start paying him again.
Why these numbers matter more than they look
A loan ceiling is not bureaucracy: it is the only thing stopping a rich club from warehousing fifty players and spreading them across half of Europe. FIFA says so openly in the circular with which, in 2022, it introduced the reform: the stated aim is that loans should serve training and development, not the hoarding of players.
And from the point of view of somebody following a club, it changes how you read a transfer window. When a club says in January that it cannot send a young player out to play, it is often not looking for an excuse: it is looking at a full list.
Sources: official circular 235/A of the Italian Football Federation of 27 May 2026, registration terms and rules for the 2026/2027 season, point 7, read in the document published by the FIGC; FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players, January 2025 edition, article 10 and the definition of club-trained player, read in the text published by FIFA; FIFA circular number 1796 of 2022 on the new loan rules, for the stated objectives of the reform; official statements from Venezia FC and AC Milan of 7 September 2026 for the two deals cited; Calixte Paul Ligue’s date of birth from the player’s encyclopaedic entry.
Frequently asked questions
How many loans can an Italian club do?
In the 2026/2027 season, according to FIGC official circular 235/A, each Serie A, B and C club may take up to nine professionals on temporary transfer from FIGC-affiliated clubs, and send out as many.
What about FIFA's limit of six?
FIFA's Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players set, from 1 July 2024, a maximum of six professionals loaned out and six loaned in at any given time during a season. It is a different count from the Italian one, which concerns transfers between clubs of the same association.
Are there loans that do not count?
Yes. FIFA's regulations exempt a loan that occurs before the end of the season in which the player turns twenty-one, provided he is a club-trained player with the releasing club.
What does club-trained mean?
Under FIFA's definitions, a player registered with his current club for three entire seasons or thirty-six months, continuous or not, between the ages of fifteen and twenty-one.
Are there limits towards a single club?
Yes: a maximum of three professionals loaned out to the same club and three loaned in from the same club at any time during a season, irrespective of age or club-trained status.
How long can a loan last?
At minimum the time between two registration periods, at maximum one year. A clause providing for a longer duration is not recognised, and an extension requires the player's written consent.
Can the receiving club send the player on again?
No. FIFA's regulations expressly prohibit the new club from sub-loaning or permanently transferring the player to a third club.
