She Just Signed for Juventus.

Good morning all,

Annalise Rasmussen just signed for Juventus Women.

If you saw the post from her agent Gio Giometti circulating on LinkedIn this morning — the photo in the Juventus kit, the famous logo in the background, the pride on both their faces — you'll understand why it stopped me mid-scroll.

This is a big deal. A young Australian woman signing for one of the most iconic football clubs in the world. Genuinely historic.

But this post isn't about the announcement. It's about everything that comes after it.

I first met Gio at a PFA event in Melbourne in 2024.

Those events matter. Not because of the formal agenda, because of the conversations that happen in the margins. Gio and I got talking, found we were thinking about athlete welfare the same way, and stayed in touch.

A month or two ago we got on a proper call, Gio, his partner Dimitiros, and me. We mapped out the whole process. What it looks like when one of their clients signs internationally, what the currency exposure actually is, where the gaps are, and how we fill them. No rush, no pitch. Just two people who respect what each other does, figuring out how to work together properly.

That's how the best professional relationships are built. Not a cold outreach, not a referral form. A conversation at a PFA event, a follow-up call, a shared understanding of what good looks like for the athlete.

So when Annalise signed for Juventus Women and Gio picked up the phone — it wasn't a cold call. It was a trusted conversation between people who already knew how the other one thinks.

That context matters. Because the advice you get from someone you trust is different from the advice you get from someone you just met. The questions are more honest. The answers are more useful.

So, Annalise, Gio and myself got on the phone. We talked through the landscape. Banking in Italy. How her salary gets paid and in what currency. The difference between what her contract says and what actually lands in her account after conversion costs, fees and tax withholding. The practical realities of living expenses in Turin: what costs AUD, what costs EUR, and how those two worlds collide.

None of it was urgent. Annalise has just arrived. She's settling in, finding her feet, figuring out what life actually costs in a new city. This isn't the moment to be building a full currency strategy.

But it is the moment to know someone's in her corner when she's ready.

That's what I told Gio. When the season settles, when she knows her expenses, when the first off-season comes around and she's thinking about what to do with her earnings — that's when we map it out properly. A clear picture of her currency exposure, how to protect her AUD purchasing power, how to make the most of what she's earned.

For now it's simple. She has my number. And she knows I'm not going anywhere.

I've watched too many athletes navigate this alone. Signing a contract in EUR or GBP or USD, living in a country where everything costs something different, sending money home and watching a percentage disappear every time. It adds up fast, and most of it is avoidable. Thankfully she has a great agent looking out for this on her behalf.

The shirt photo is the beginning of the story. The financial chapter starts quietly, behind the scenes, usually when nobody's watching.

That's where we come in.

Then twenty minutes after I finished that call, this landed in my LinkedIn DMs.

An AS Roma player. Five months without pay. Contract terminated. Heading to FIFA.

I don't handle FIFA disputes, however I’ve built a relationship with a sports lawyer who specialises in exactly this. But here's what most people miss about these situations.

When FIFA rules in an athlete's favour and the money finally comes through — it doesn't arrive in their home currency. It arrives wherever the club was based, in whatever currency they operated in. And the player, who is now back home or at a new club in a different country entirely, has to move that money.

That's where we come in.

We've handled several of these situations over the years. The dispute gets resolved, the payment comes through, and without the right structure in place the athlete loses another 3-5% on the transfer on top of everything they've already been through.

Two messages. Twenty minutes apart. One a celebration, one a crisis.

Both needed the same thing, someone who understands the full picture, not just one part of it.

That's the job.

FROM THE BLOG THIS WEEK

👉 The world got nervous. Your Aussie dollar felt it. The AUD/USD story nobody is explaining properly — and what it means if you have transfers coming.

👉 Someone Asked Me If I Miss Being a Professional Footballer The most personal thing I've written. A question I'd never been asked before, and an honest answer that surprised even me.

👉 We Had No Idea What We Were Doing The plan was Spain. Then somehow Thailand. The honest story of how we sold everything and ended up in Hua Hin with 11 bags and no plan.

👉 Last week's newsletter — The dollar was supposed to go up. It didn't. Here's why — plus the AUD/USD scenario breakdown for the rest of 2026. 👉

👉 Book a Currency Strategy Call
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Until next week,

Chris
SportsFX I Athlete Newsletter I The Overseas Athlete