Watford owner Gino Pozzo says the financial power of the Premier League means the Hornets and sister club Udinese’s playing budgets are on “different planets”.

The Golden Boys are nine games into a top flight campaign which could see the club earn around £130 million. And that is with the worst case scenario of relegation.

However, should Quique Sanchez Flores’ men avoid the drop, they will be in line to receive an even bigger revenue boost as a new Premier League TV rights deal begins at the start of the 2016/2017 campaign. That is believed to be worth at least £180 million to top-flight clubs.

It is little wonder then that Watford have the financial clout to attract players that Udinese simply can’t, such as experienced Serie A campaigners Valon Behrami, Victor Ibarbo and Alessandro Diamanti.

In a translated interview with Messagero Veneto, a regional newspaper in Udine, Pozzo said: "Watford and Udinese are on two different planets.

"You know what the budget is of our English team? More than 50 million euros. In Udine it is nearly half. That is because here in the UK, TV rights are divided proportionally between the teams”

The collective bargaining agreement made by the Premier League clubs sees 50 per cent of the UK broadcast revenue equally split between all 20 sides.

Twenty-five per cent is distributed as a ‘facilities fee’ for when a club’s game is shown on television and the other 25 per cent is split and awarded on where a club finishes in the table. The international broadcast revenue is distributed equally between all 20 clubs.

In Serie A things are very different. Only 40 per cent of their broadcast revenue is split equally between the 20 clubs. Thirty per cent is based on the club’s appeal/fanbase and a further 30 per cent is based on the club’s positions in Serie A over a five-year period and their historic classifications.

It, in effect, allows the likes of Inter Milan, AC Milan and Juventus - the sides with the strongest national fanbase – to generate higher revenue than the likes of Udinese even if they’re struggling.

“In Italy it is an absurd policy,” Pozzo said. “The money is divided between the stronger teams. Thus increasing the (players’) salaries is impossible if you’re keeping balanced books.

"Watford and Udinese, however, can be allies, by targeting different players. Therefore they do not compete in the marketplace."

Attacking midfielder Diamanti has made just two short substitute appearances since arriving on a season-long loan from Chinese side Guangzhou Evergrande in August.

Pozzo was asked if the Italian would have been better served joining Udinese, who currently sit 15th in Serie A, in the summer instead of opting for a switch to Vicarage Road.

He said: "Returning to the Premier League was his (Diamanti’s) choice, but it was also a family decision.

"But be warned if he were to be unhappy here (at Watford)...then Udine is the ideal place to raise children.”

Pozzo spends the majority of his time in England and at Watford but unsurprisingly insists Udinese remains in his and his family’s heart.

It is almost 30 years since Gino’s farther, Gianpaolo Pozzo, bought the Little Zebras and in that time the club has been transformed.

Gino has played a key role in that and helped create the family’s famed scouting network, which has not only benefitted Udinese but also Watford and the other Pozzo-owned club Granada.

But, as it gets harder and harder to unearth a hidden gem ahead of Europe’s elite, their emphasis on signings has shifted.

"Let's say that the market has changed,” he said. “We are ready to change course. When in Serie C we had to go to Brazil or Chile to find talent but now the players that we target there are already known. We now we look at more experienced players who will choose Udinese for the 'restart' of his career."

But the Pozzos haven’t abandoned the philosophy which made Udinese so successful during the late 2000s.

They are still signing youngsters with potential, only they are learning their craft in Spain. “There is Granada, and especially its B team – it’s the ideal place to mould young foreign signings that we buy. You will see how many will arrive in Udine soon and are ready to explode.”