Introduction

          It is reported that the global football transfer market is worth around $7billion. In the modern era, with broadcasting rights, more valuable endorsements and increasing external investment, this figure is continually rising. Hence, it is a vital area of football and with such enormous transactions taking place, it is an area that might need to be monitored and regulated with great scrutiny to reinforce proper conduct.

          Only recently have FIFA decided to implement a formulated system that they believe will improve the landscape of the transfer market and the financial incomings and outgoings involved. Part of this reform is the idea of a FIFA Clearing House. In this blog, I will outline exactly what this Clearing House entails and how this is likely to impact world football both positively and negatively. As the great reform and new regulations are likely to be brought in by FIFA in the near future, this is an important change to note and to understand.

What is the Clearing House?

          The concept of a FIFA Clearing House has been borne out of the notion that a lot of money is lost from transactions that take place during player transfers. Each transfer involves a large number of payable parties; namely the player, the clubs, the agents, the lawyers and the training club, as well as others. Hence, this provides difficulty in overseeing exactly where each payment goes from and to and how the payments are made. Furthermore, additional considerations such as taxes on the remuneration and benefit in kind payments complicate the situation further. Consequently, millions of Pounds, Euros and Dollars are mismanaged and ‘lost’ during the process.

          For example, regarding training compensation and solidarity payments, it is alleged that currently only around $70million is paid annually to training clubs despite $400million being owed in total as part of the training compensation for the player. FIFA have shown that often this money ends up in strange locations, peculiar bank accounts and in unexpected forms of remuneration connected with the transfers that take place. Hence, the argument for a centralised FIFA Clearing House emerged and could be a possible solution to the issue. Importantly, the Clearing House will not make profit, it solely serves to reduce ‘lost’ finances.

          The primary underlying problem with the current environment is that a lot of money is being ‘lost’ from the game of football and ending up in the wrong places or is not being sufficiently paid. The fundamental aim of the Clearing House is to prevent this. All transactions that take place during the transfer of a player across the football world will pass through the centralised system. This facilitates for FIFA to have greater control in overseeing payments that are made and ensuring that they are being paid to the right clubs. This is important as the graph below shows the sheer size of the football market and the value of transactions that can take place. The graph below is for the European football market alone:

European Football Market: 2011 to 2021 (€ billion)

As part of the Clearing House, agents are one of the parties that will have to disclose the fees they receive from each deal. Agents are a part of the transfer process and will be remunerated for the role they play in the deal. This has been an area where fans have expressed particular interest in being visible to understand how they benefit financially and whether or not it is done in an appropriate and proper manner. I will go on to consider the issues that this may create in the following section.

          The new reforms are directed towards enhancing transparency in football and improving the game as a whole. There are several components of the Clearing House that are required to reinforce the objectives of its implementation. FIFA are using an independent payment institution in Paris to receive and review the information provided regarding transactions through transfers. The aim is to run a centralised, streamlined, predictable and automated process. This independent and non-biased body prevents any accusation that FIFA may not be implementing and operating the new system properly. The institution is also tasked with carrying out retrospective due diligence and risk analysis on the compliance of clubs with international financial regulations over the last few years. This serves the purpose of immediately enhancing the transparency of the transfer market as a mark of the Clearing House beginning to make a difference.

          FIFA have also stated that the requirement for provision of information on transfers and transactions is burdened upon the member associations in which a transfer takes place. It is the responsibility of each national football association to provide reliable and accurate information to the Clearing House that can then be judged as to whether or not they meet the correct procedures and payments for a transfer. The information provided will give FIFA, the Clearing House and the independent financial body, the resources and understanding to ensure that the appropriate parties are sufficiently remunerated for their role in the deal.

          FIFA have outlined a distinction to be made between domestic and international transfers in accordance with the new Clearing House as well as the FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players. It has been stipulated that member associations must also implement their own electronic domestic transfer and registration system integrated into the FIFA Transfer Matching System. This will be used by the FIFA Clearing House for assessing domestic transfers. The details of international transfers however, will use the International Transfer Matching System to assist the Clearing House in registering details.

          One of the main beneficiaries of the Clearing House therefore will be smaller clubs at the lower end of the football pyramid. If they receive the full sum of training compensation they are entitled to, this will make a significant difference to their financial stability. With less money being lost out on by them, the Clearing House will likely transform the operations of the lower clubs in football and help them in developing into a stronger entity. This is an admirable and desirable outcome that FIFA hopes to achieve as simply as illustrated below:

          As well as preventing money being lost out of the game, the Clearing House should also have the benefit of enabling fans to understand where the money passes into from football transfers. This kind of interaction can enhance fan engagement and lessen any worries regarding the financial situation of football. An increased perception of integrity, financial accountability and a public approach to avoiding fraudulent conduct and activity is likely to improve football as a whole if the system is implemented reasonably and in the understanding of any issues that may arise and the adverse impact it may have. FIFA will likely implement additional measures and requirements in order to avoid such problems.

The Issues

          The most significant point of contention to raise regarding the implementation of the FIFA Clearing House is that it requires individuals and bodies to publicly disclose their earnings throughout the year. Whilst it is agreeable and beneficial that football and the transfer landscape is transparent, demanding the public disclosure of individual income sets a dangerous precedent. Article 8 of the European Convention of Human Rights and Article 12 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights concerns an individual’s right to privacy and private life. In other words, we have a fundamental right to have personal information kept securely and not shared publicly without our expressed permission.

          To look at this from another perspective, it is commonly deemed socially unacceptable to inquire about how much a person earns in their line of work. Friends and associates will rarely ask you to disclose your income or salary for a year. In any line of profession this is usually socially unacceptable as it can give rise to problems, especially in certain regions. For example, if we consider an area that struggles with poverty issues and a low average income, forcing an agent in these locations to declare their earnings, may leave them vulnerable to social condemnation, resentment, persecution and also places them at risk of burglary or other forms of crime and theft.

          Publicly disclosing one’s income is an uncomfortable situation to be in in any case and it is important for FIFA to account for this consideration if they are to ask agents and other individual parties to detail this. Whilst FIFA have acknowledged that they intend for this public information to be necessary and proportionate, it could be deemed that this idea contradicts common social and public policy and interest for this to be a requirement of the FIFA Clearing House. The worst possible outcome of implementing the system would be that certain parties involved in transfers are then placed into a difficult predicament and forced to put themselves into a vulnerable position in society.

Summary

          The fundamental principles, values and objectives underlying the concept of the FIFA Clearing House system is admirable and agreeable. For the elements of accountability, centralisation, cleanness and the extent of transparency that it will provide, it will be a system that should benefit world football. However, there are wider considerations to be made regarding the protection of individual parties that are involved within a transfer transaction. The consequences of forcing a party to declare individual earnings is against common societal standards and is likely to create issues resulting from such a level of publicly available information and financial figures.

Introduction

According to leading football platform Transfermarkt, there are around 15,000 agents operating globally and almost 7,000 established agencies. The clientele of these agencies varies greatly based upon nationalities, value, standard and leagues. Some agencies boast extensive lists of players whilst others adopt a different approach and have a smaller, more selective portfolio.

There are advantages and disadvantages for agencies approaching the industry in their own way. This blog will look into specific examples of agencies around the world that operate differently. I will begin by assessing the world’s biggest and most well-known global agencies before looking at the more exclusive and niche agencies that keep their market narrow, specialising in specific areas of football.  Finally, I will look at the agents who have paved their way using their own name, unattached to an agency brand and the unique elements of this approach, including that of family members and friends. 

The aim of this blog is to give you as the reader an insight into the particulars and intricacies of football agents and agencies. The table below outlines some of the agencies that will be referred to throughout this blog and their particular clients:                                   

The Big Players

There are some global giants that exist within the world of agency. These companies will have players in leagues in all corners of the footballing world. Consequently, they will employ a considerably-sized range of staff and personnel. These agencies may employ their own scouts, lawyers, tax advisers, marketing specialists and consultants as well as many agents that work in certain jurisdictions and additional employees that help with social media, legal matters and other areas of the profession.

An extensive client base means an equally large number of sources of income. The companies that operate at this level are able to generate enormous revenue from their clients and have become powerful entities in the world of football and of sport in general. For example, ICM Stellar have established themselves as the most valuable agency in the world over the last few years. They have almost 800 players in their books that accumulate a market value of almost £1.5billion. They have also negotiated comfortably over €1billion worth of contracts including Jack Grealish’s £100million British-record transfer from Aston Villa to Manchester City.

Their main competitors operating at this level are the likes of CAA Base (formerly Base Soccer before merging with the Creative Artists Agency), Jorge Mendes’ Gestifute, Unique Sports Group, Wasserman and some individuals that I will discuss further later.

CAA Base have over 500 players with an average individual market value of over €1million per player and has several major clients such as Heung-min Son, Richarlison, James Maddison, Raphael Varane, Trevoh Chalobah and Kyle Walker. Base Soccer was a UK based agency which entered into a merger with the Creative Artists Agency. If you are interested further in this, you may be interested in reading our previous blog entitled “Uniting Forces, Power and Income: Why Do Football Agencies Merge?” which explains this merger in more detail. Similarly in Europe, the likes of Lian Sports, ROOF, and Rogon have developed a similar reputation and dominance across the continent and will pick up players which are not signed by the biggest players in the game.

Whilst Base Soccer began as solely a football agency, its merger with CAA reflected a growing trend in the industry. Football is the most popular sport globally and commercially and financially sits at an extraordinarily high level. Multisport agencies and even agencies in other industries such as music and entertainment are venturing into football to further broaden their power within the industry. Often these are US-based agencies who look at the ever-increasing potential of ‘soccer’ and have the facilities and financial capabilities to try out this new arm of business as a lucrative source of income.

Whilst CAA made a significant expansion decision in merging with an already established football agency, they are not alone in doing so. Large agencies such as Wasserman, whose $1billion+ clientele list includes top-level athletes in Baseball, Basketball, Golf and American Football as well as Olympians and Musicians such as Drake. Wasserman merged with SFX soccer agency as part of their bid to begin in football and took on clients such as Steven Gerrard, Michael Owen and Jamie Carragher. Since their foray into football grew, they have looked after clients such as Aymeric Laporte, Harvey Barnes, Federico Valverde and US female star, Alex Morgan.

Another US-based global giant, Octagon, are in the process of establishing themselves in soccer. Currently their biggest clients include Tajon Buchanan, Gianluca Busio and Roberto Martinez but they may just be the beginning. Similarly to CAA and to Wasserman, Octagon employ hundreds of staff and have divisions that specialise in sports from ice hockey to tennis and boast major clients such as Basketball superstar Steph Curry. Football is their next project and their soccer division is likely to grow substantially.

A summary of the top 10 most valuable football agencies is screenshotted in the graphic below from Transfermarkt:

The advantages of being a global and giant agency are plentiful. As I mentioned, there are multiple sources of income to capitalise upon. This is coupled with a vast network and countless contacts in global sport, allowing these agencies to take on new possibilities and challenges and experience further growth in power, reward and dominance. Their global presence makes them the most reputable and well-respected names around and it can be seen as a privilege for players to be approached by them regarding representation. However, as we will go on to explore in the following sections, this does not mean there isn’t space for boutique agencies and even individuals to make major inroads into the industry.

Boutique Agencies

I speak from personal experience when detailing the benefits and challenges of being a part of an agency that operates in an entirely different nature to the global giants mentioned in the previous sections. My agency, Family & Football has always had a relatively narrow clientbase. Although our client base spans across Europe between countries such as Turkey, the UK, Germany and Austria, we are limited in number in both players and in agents. Despite this, we have managed to grow into a well-respected agency which prides itself in its broad network and ethical values and principles.

We are not the only ones who have spotted the potential of this structure. Many companies across football operate on this kind of level with a particular clientele that is limited in number and may be represented by just a handful of agents. The advantage of this is that the agencies are able to find their niche in the market. They conduct their business in a certain manner and in a specific area of the industry that allows them to thrive regardless of their size. Below I have provided a short list and brief summary of some examples of these kinds of agencies. Note that this is far from exhaustive and simply aims to depict the kind of company I have described in this section, there are countless agencies that fit the characteristics I mentioned:

1. Leaderbrock: A Spanish specialist. They have a particular stronghold in La Liga and in top Spanish football talent. They prioritise ensuring they are able to successfully represent players in this market and to understand its intricate nuances and opportunities. Leaderbrock represents clients such as Pedri and Ferran Torres on the back of the reputation they have built in their unique speciality.
2. GR Sports: Dominant force in Italy. Once again, whilst perhaps not a globally recognised name, GR sports look after over 50 players in the Italian leagues as well as Italian national team players. Their clients include Sandro Tonali and Gianluca Mancini and they are involved in numerous deals within their territory.
3. ND Sports Management: French-African Players. As you may have realised in the previous two examples, these medium-sized companies find a particular area of the industry to specialise in. They capitalise on their own expertise and network in order to best serve a very particular clientele demographic. The previous two examples focused on a national jurisdiction. ND Sports Management, however, look after clients of a certain race. Their major client is Arsenal’s William Saliba who reflects the rest of their clientbase in his mixed-race ethnicity. All of their clients are French citizens with African backgrounds and the agency has successfully built themselves up as the go-to agent for such players.
4. Haspel Sportconsulting (Ingo Haspel): Individual expertise. Haspel represents a notable collection of German players, best known for looking after André Schürrle. We will look at individuals more closely in the next section but he is a great example of targeting a specific niche market to grow business as an agent.

It is also a significant factor to mention that the size of these agencies does not necessarily restrict the magnitude of transfers, deals or contracts they may be involved in. Although an all-encompassing network and limitless access may not be readily available to them, they will often still be able to find a way to engage with the desired party. Often, agencies of this size will utilise the network they do already have to collaborate with others and manufacture and complete the desired deal.

Going Solo

Some of the best known individuals in football agency have built their reputations and achieved their success because of the exact nature of their business; conducted as an individual. Names such as the late Mino Raiola and Pini Zahavi, known by some as the ‘Godfather of Agency’ may be the first that spring to mind. Both of these agents have built their empires as individuals and have represented the cream of the crop.

Raiola’s clients included Erling Haaland, Matthijs de Ligt, Marco Verratti, Gianluigi Donarumma and Paul Pogba. He was involved with major international transfers and deals throughout his career and was a globally-respected agent. He was never a part of a major agency but built himself a close team with an extensive network that enabled them to experience success across the footballing world. His clients are now represented by Rafaela Pimenta who had been a longstanding part of Raiola’s team.

Zahavi is also a solo operator that has always had a clientbase limited in numbers but exclusively represents a select and exclusive calibre of player. His current clients include Robert Lewandowski, Christopher Nkunku, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Aleksander Mitrovic. Zahavi and Raiola are rare examples of special characters that are able to conduct the business and services of an agent as well as personally develop a worldwide network to best serve their clients.

Another example of an agent who began alone is Jorge Mendes, the agent of Cristiano Ronaldo. Although he now has his own company, Gestifute, he is a noteworthy example in this section. Of course, he was in the fortunate position of starting out by representing a future Ballon d’Or winner, but he has utilised and developed his position to maximise his success in the industry. Rather than purely leaning on CR7’s success, Mendes has found his own niche just like some of the companies mentioned in the previous section. He is another example which shows how an individual who experiences such success can also create a company to aid their further growth in the industry. Below is a list of some further notable examples of solo agents who have established themselves across different football markets:

1. Ingo Haspel has successfully implemented a similar operation in Germany as mentioned before.
2. Pascal Pavel dominates the Czech Republic market with 60 top players from the region.
3. Hernan Berman has over 40 Argentinian players.
4. Fernando Felicevich in the Chilean market.

Lone-operating agents may also be the family or friends of players. For them, there is less of a need to be a part of a company. They will often just represent their relatives. However, they will likely have to collaborate with other agents who can give them access to a wider network and opportunities. In some cases, as with Mendes and Cristiano, the agent may use this as a platform to continue and to develop in football agency. For example, the brothers of Danny Welbeck have taken on additional clients as well as their brother and have set up their own company. Others have done the same including the brother of Sergio Ramos or the father of Lionel Messi; the father of Neymar is also his agent and it is becoming a more common pattern in modern football. The family agents often work with other agents with wider networks to manufacture and complete major deals.

Conclusion

This blog has hopefully given you an insight into the variety of structures, systems and approaches of agencies and agents in the world of football. From world-dominating multi-sport agencies to individuals who build themselves up alone, there are many ways of achieving success in the industry. The integral part of the success of these agencies is their commitment to building a network and the principles they conduct themselves by.

Introduction

According to leading football platform Transfermarkt, there are around 15,000 agents operating globally and almost 7,000 established agencies. The clientele of these agencies varies greatly based upon nationalities, value, standard and leagues. Some agencies boast extensive lists of players whilst others adopt a different approach and have a smaller, more selective portfolio.

There are advantages and disadvantages for agencies approaching the industry in their own way. This blog will look into specific examples of agencies around the world that operate differently. I will begin by assessing the world’s biggest and most well-known global agencies before looking at the more exclusive and niche agencies that keep their market narrow, specialising in specific areas of football.  Finally, I will look at the agents who have paved their way using their own name, unattached to an agency brand and the unique elements of this approach, including that of family members and friends. 

The aim of this blog is to give you as the reader an insight into the particulars and intricacies of football agents and agencies. The table below outlines some of the agencies that will be referred to throughout this blog and their particular clients:                                   

The Big Players

There are some global giants that exist within the world of agency. These companies will have players in leagues in all corners of the footballing world. Consequently, they will employ a considerably-sized range of staff and personnel. These agencies may employ their own scouts, lawyers, tax advisers, marketing specialists and consultants as well as many agents that work in certain jurisdictions and additional employees that help with social media, legal matters and other areas of the profession.

An extensive client base means an equally large number of sources of income. The companies that operate at this level are able to generate enormous revenue from their clients and have become powerful entities in the world of football and of sport in general. For example, ICM Stellar have established themselves as the most valuable agency in the world over the last few years. They have almost 800 players in their books that accumulate a market value of almost £1.5billion. They have also negotiated comfortably over €1billion worth of contracts including Jack Grealish’s £100million British-record transfer from Aston Villa to Manchester City.

Their main competitors operating at this level are the likes of CAA Base (formerly Base Soccer before merging with the Creative Artists Agency), Jorge Mendes’ Gestifute, Unique Sports Group, Wasserman and some individuals that I will discuss further later.

CAA Base have over 500 players with an average individual market value of over €1million per player and has several major clients such as Heung-min Son, Richarlison, James Maddison, Raphael Varane, Trevoh Chalobah and Kyle Walker. Base Soccer was a UK based agency which entered into a merger with the Creative Artists Agency. If you are interested further in this, you may be interested in reading our previous blog entitled “Uniting Forces, Power and Income: Why Do Football Agencies Merge?” which explains this merger in more detail. Similarly in Europe, the likes of Lian Sports, ROOF, and Rogon have developed a similar reputation and dominance across the continent and will pick up players which are not signed by the biggest players in the game.

Whilst Base Soccer began as solely a football agency, its merger with CAA reflected a growing trend in the industry. Football is the most popular sport globally and commercially and financially sits at an extraordinarily high level. Multisport agencies and even agencies in other industries such as music and entertainment are venturing into football to further broaden their power within the industry. Often these are US-based agencies who look at the ever-increasing potential of ‘soccer’ and have the facilities and financial capabilities to try out this new arm of business as a lucrative source of income.

Whilst CAA made a significant expansion decision in merging with an already established football agency, they are not alone in doing so. Large agencies such as Wasserman, whose $1billion+ clientele list includes top-level athletes in Baseball, Basketball, Golf and American Football as well as Olympians and Musicians such as Drake. Wasserman merged with SFX soccer agency as part of their bid to begin in football and took on clients such as Steven Gerrard, Michael Owen and Jamie Carragher. Since their foray into football grew, they have looked after clients such as Aymeric Laporte, Harvey Barnes, Federico Valverde and US female star, Alex Morgan.

Another US-based global giant, Octagon, are in the process of establishing themselves in soccer. Currently their biggest clients include Tajon Buchanan, Gianluca Busio and Roberto Martinez but they may just be the beginning. Similarly to CAA and to Wasserman, Octagon employ hundreds of staff and have divisions that specialise in sports from ice hockey to tennis and boast major clients such as Basketball superstar Steph Curry. Football is their next project and their soccer division is likely to grow substantially.

A summary of the top 10 most valuable football agencies is screenshotted in the graphic below from Transfermarkt:

The advantages of being a global and giant agency are plentiful. As I mentioned, there are multiple sources of income to capitalise upon. This is coupled with a vast network and countless contacts in global sport, allowing these agencies to take on new possibilities and challenges and experience further growth in power, reward and dominance. Their global presence makes them the most reputable and well-respected names around and it can be seen as a privilege for players to be approached by them regarding representation. However, as we will go on to explore in the following sections, this does not mean there isn’t space for boutique agencies and even individuals to make major inroads into the industry.

Boutique Agencies

I speak from personal experience when detailing the benefits and challenges of being a part of an agency that operates in an entirely different nature to the global giants mentioned in the previous sections. My agency, Family & Football has always had a relatively narrow clientbase. Although our client base spans across Europe between countries such as Turkey, the UK, Germany and Austria, we are limited in number in both players and in agents. Despite this, we have managed to grow into a well-respected agency which prides itself in its broad network and ethical values and principles.

We are not the only ones who have spotted the potential of this structure. Many companies across football operate on this kind of level with a particular clientele that is limited in number and may be represented by just a handful of agents. The advantage of this is that the agencies are able to find their niche in the market. They conduct their business in a certain manner and in a specific area of the industry that allows them to thrive regardless of their size. Below I have provided a short list and brief summary of some examples of these kinds of agencies. Note that this is far from exhaustive and simply aims to depict the kind of company I have described in this section, there are countless agencies that fit the characteristics I mentioned:

1. Leaderbrock: A Spanish specialist. They have a particular stronghold in La Liga and in top Spanish football talent. They prioritise ensuring they are able to successfully represent players in this market and to understand its intricate nuances and opportunities. Leaderbrock represents clients such as Pedri and Ferran Torres on the back of the reputation they have built in their unique speciality.
2. GR Sports: Dominant force in Italy. Once again, whilst perhaps not a globally recognised name, GR sports look after over 50 players in the Italian leagues as well as Italian national team players. Their clients include Sandro Tonali and Gianluca Mancini and they are involved in numerous deals within their territory.
3. ND Sports Management: French-African Players. As you may have realised in the previous two examples, these medium-sized companies find a particular area of the industry to specialise in. They capitalise on their own expertise and network in order to best serve a very particular clientele demographic. The previous two examples focused on a national jurisdiction. ND Sports Management, however, look after clients of a certain race. Their major client is Arsenal’s William Saliba who reflects the rest of their clientbase in his mixed-race ethnicity. All of their clients are French citizens with African backgrounds and the agency has successfully built themselves up as the go-to agent for such players.
4. Haspel Sportconsulting (Ingo Haspel): Individual expertise. Haspel represents a notable collection of German players, best known for looking after André Schürrle. We will look at individuals more closely in the next section but he is a great example of targeting a specific niche market to grow business as an agent.

It is also a significant factor to mention that the size of these agencies does not necessarily restrict the magnitude of transfers, deals or contracts they may be involved in. Although an all-encompassing network and limitless access may not be readily available to them, they will often still be able to find a way to engage with the desired party. Often, agencies of this size will utilise the network they do already have to collaborate with others and manufacture and complete the desired deal.

Going Solo

Some of the best known individuals in football agency have built their reputations and achieved their success because of the exact nature of their business; conducted as an individual. Names such as the late Mino Raiola and Pini Zahavi, known by some as the ‘Godfather of Agency’ may be the first that spring to mind. Both of these agents have built their empires as individuals and have represented the cream of the crop.

Raiola’s clients included Erling Haaland, Matthijs de Ligt, Marco Verratti, Gianluigi Donarumma and Paul Pogba. He was involved with major international transfers and deals throughout his career and was a globally-respected agent. He was never a part of a major agency but built himself a close team with an extensive network that enabled them to experience success across the footballing world. His clients are now represented by Rafaela Pimenta who had been a longstanding part of Raiola’s team.

Zahavi is also a solo operator that has always had a clientbase limited in numbers but exclusively represents a select and exclusive calibre of player. His current clients include Robert Lewandowski, Christopher Nkunku, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Aleksander Mitrovic. Zahavi and Raiola are rare examples of special characters that are able to conduct the business and services of an agent as well as personally develop a worldwide network to best serve their clients.

Another example of an agent who began alone is Jorge Mendes, the agent of Cristiano Ronaldo. Although he now has his own company, Gestifute, he is a noteworthy example in this section. Of course, he was in the fortunate position of starting out by representing a future Ballon d’Or winner, but he has utilised and developed his position to maximise his success in the industry. Rather than purely leaning on CR7’s success, Mendes has found his own niche just like some of the companies mentioned in the previous section. He is another example which shows how an individual who experiences such success can also create a company to aid their further growth in the industry. Below is a list of some further notable examples of solo agents who have established themselves across different football markets:

1. Ingo Haspel has successfully implemented a similar operation in Germany as mentioned before.
2. Pascal Pavel dominates the Czech Republic market with 60 top players from the region.
3. Hernan Berman has over 40 Argentinian players.
4. Fernando Felicevich in the Chilean market.

Lone-operating agents may also be the family or friends of players. For them, there is less of a need to be a part of a company. They will often just represent their relatives. However, they will likely have to collaborate with other agents who can give them access to a wider network and opportunities. In some cases, as with Mendes and Cristiano, the agent may use this as a platform to continue and to develop in football agency. For example, the brothers of Danny Welbeck have taken on additional clients as well as their brother and have set up their own company. Others have done the same including the brother of Sergio Ramos or the father of Lionel Messi; the father of Neymar is also his agent and it is becoming a more common pattern in modern football. The family agents often work with other agents with wider networks to manufacture and complete major deals.

Conclusion

This blog has hopefully given you an insight into the variety of structures, systems and approaches of agencies and agents in the world of football. From world-dominating multi-sport agencies to individuals who build themselves up alone, there are many ways of achieving success in the industry. The integral part of the success of these agencies is their commitment to building a network and the principles they conduct themselves by.

Introduction

For anyone with a vested or general interest in the political and economic situation of the UK, you will be aware of the current turbulence in the country amongst the government and the weakening of the Pound Sterling (£) currency. A cost-of-living crisis has been declared due to the significant increase in basic living costs. Many families and a majority of the population will struggle to afford sufficient heating and other necessities during the upcoming winter months.

The conflict in Ukraine has had a widespread impact on Western European countries and beyond. For the UK, it has meant that fuel and other products that are sources from the conflicted region have become more expensive. Consequently the living costs have risen. Furthermore, instability within the government has led to several inconsistent and detrimental measures being taken by various authorities to try and combat and mitigate against the challenges. This includes the raising of interest rates to stem inflation, changes to the taxation structure and other government intervention.

In this blog, I will focus on a specific impact of the financial situation in the UK; that on football. Football is the region’s most popular sport and is a staple feature during the Christmas period. However, fans and EFL clubs alike are impacted by the economic crisis. Players themselves are also affected by changes in the structure of taxes and otherwise. I will endeavour to explain these consequences within the blog.

The Proposed Changes to Income Tax

In September of 2022, Kwasi Kwarteng, who held the position of Chancellor of the Exchequer for a grand total of 38 days, proposed changes to taxation schemes and tax cuts to attempt to counteract the effect of rising living costs and the disposable income of the general population.

The suggestion of lowering basic income tax to 19% from 20% will not affect football players at the highest level and Premier League footballers are always in the highest-threshold tax bracket of 45%. However, such a change may assist the heart of the game of football; the fans. In the current economic climate, people are forced to give up certain luxuries that are not considered necessities. Unfortunately for some, this may mean less room for buying tickets and attending football games and even giving up season tickets. This will have a knock-on effect to less financially stable clubs within the EFL who rely on gate income from fans. Lowering the basic tax rate may help these fans continue to attend and support their local and adored clubs.  

Another significant change that was proposed in the mini-budget was the abolition of the 45%  income tax rate. This would reduce the effective tax rate for Premier League players to  40%. As mentioned previously, with an annual income of well over £150,000, the top players are in the top income tax-bracket of 45%. After the  changes were announced on September 23rd that the proposal to abolish the 45% tax rate  was scrapped on October 3. The decision was swiftly reversed due to widespread criticism that this reduction in the top bracket of income tax served only to protect the wealthy. Consequently, the value of the pound plummeted, particularly against the US dollar, and the Bank of England again threatened to hike interest rates.  Below I explain the impact that the 45% tax rate cut would have had on English football were it to be set at 40%:

1. Players, who average wages in excess of £3million in the Premier League, would have  seen significant net (after-tax) wage increases
2. This would have been great for player  recruitment and could have led to even more talent being drawn to the UK.
3. On average, every starting XI Premier League player would have received a net pay rise of £2,700 a week, totalling £144,000 annually. This is based on their average salaries.
4. In an extreme example, Cristiano Ronaldo with a reported salary in excess of £26million would have received a  £1.3 million raise.
5. This net wage increase alone would have been more than 3.5 times the average UK wage before tax.
6. These numbers only consider first-team players and ignore academy and staff salaries.

For the UK treasury, the Premier League tax cuts alone would have cost more than £72m.  To some extent, this may illustrate why the decision was reversed as the government wishes to protect their tax income. Furthermore, football players  already have a reputation in some circles for being “overpaid”. This change in taxation would only fuel the fire and create a further economic inequality between the general public and these athletes.

Corporation Tax & National Insurance

In addition to the proposed income tax changes, the government and His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) announced additional changes to other taxable assets and income, such as repealing the proposed corporate income tax hike. In other words, the Government is hoping to raise corporation tax in order to increase their revenue sourced from the profits of corporations.

Presently, this would only have a limited impact on football clubs as they have traditionally made taxable losses. However, with profitability for clubs in English football increasingly sought after, clubs could become corporate taxpayers in the future. Increasing players wages, stadium maintenance costs and other expenditures may result  in clubs deferring their taxpayer status for a while. Energy bills are a significant consideration for clubs that are not financially powerful. Some EFL clubs have trialled and advocated for earlier kick-offs to avoid the cost of floodlighting that is required during the winter when darkness sets in earlier. This is just one example of measures being taken by clubs to try and be financially sustainable against the economic crisis and avoid bankruptcy, administration and worst case scenario, liquidation. EFL clubs will inevitably feel the impact of the financial crisis greater than Premier League clubs due to their financial foundations being far inferior to these bigger clubs already, as demonstrated in the graph below which shows the average revenue across a single season for clubs according to their division:

There may be one welcome change from the club’s perspective.  The government has proposed removing the 1.25% social security cost increase. If it remains approved, this will come into force on November 6th. Providing clubs with relief of £1m a year, particularly in the lower tiers of English football, will provide an economic boost to the clubs. This is based on the average payroll. Clubs with bigger payrolls like Manchester United and Manchester City, despite no realistic financial fears, are expected to benefit from savings of around £4million from the change. The reduction in national insurance benefits all employers (clubs) and employees (players  and non-playing staff) to some extent. However, the benefit to top-level players will not be as significant as getting  rid of the previously proposed 40% income tax rate!

The State of the Economy 

As outlined, the UK economy is currently in a fragile state, experiencing inflation and the pound is  weak. Foreign players are interested in the value of the pound, the currency in which they are likely to be paid with. A weak pound means a devaluation in a currency that a foreign player might have previously preferred and sought after an opportunity at a UK club. This could cause recruitment problems or drive up the cost of  player salaries in the UK going forward in order to continue to attract players. If the current economic situation were to continue this could materialise quite dramatically in the future and UK clubs will struggle to compete in European competitions as they are unable to recruit foreign talents as easily as currently.

The graphs below show the exchange rates between the Pound and the Euro and the Pound and the Dollar respectively over the last 40 years. Note the general pattern of decreasing value for the Pound Sterling (GBP):

This would have another knock on consequence as the weakening pound will lead to an increase in the value of prize money in other currencies. For example, Premier League clubs may struggle to compete in the UEFA Champions League which is a major source of income for the top clubs. The money is also paid in Euros so it becomes even more valuable to these clubs to reach the latter stages of the competition as the Pound Sterling declines. This will also have a notable impact upon Financial Fair Play statements and clubs will have to be careful when navigating around the value of losses when converted into Euros.

US investors already have significant holdings in the Premier League, including  Manchester United (Glazers), City Football Group (Silver Lake), Arsenal (Kroenke) and  Chelsea (Todd Boehly/Clearlake Capital) to name a few.. With a weakening  pound, we may see more US investment in the Premier League. Everton FC is the latest  club to attract interest from US investors. It makes sense that as the Dollar grows stronger, investors with the financial capacity will look to purchase shares and invest in clubs in the Premier League for less of an expense.

Summary  

This blog has demonstrated that football is not immune from the fragile and erratic financial situation in a country. All through the footballing pyramid from owners, to clubs, to players, to fans at the very core of the game will be affected in some way by financial changes and measures taken to mitigate against a cost-of-living crisis. For some this may be positive benefits although on the whole, if the rest of the country is suffering, so will football. It is an ongoing situation that may play out over several years before the full extent of its effect upon UK football is understood in its entirety.