Clubs are not pawns anymore
‘If he wants to go there is nothing you can do.’
This opinion is really starting to grate with me. I am a Liverpool fan and we are currently in the middle of 3 reasonably complex transfer negotiations. Firstly we have Phil Coutinho who apparently wants to play for Barcelona but has the small issue of a recently started 5 year contract, then there’s Virgil Van Dijk who wants to join Liverpool but is one year through a 6 year contract with Southampton and Naby Keita who also wants to join but is at the start of his 5 year contract with RB Leipzig.
Firstly and to ensure there is no confusion, Liverpool, Southampton and RB Leipzig can refuse to sell. End of story. The player might complain in the media, he might go on strike, (and subsequently be docked the appropriate weeks wages) he might put in a transfer request or he might quietly talk to the club and express his wish, should a suitable deal be agreed, to leave, ultimately this doesn’t change the fact it’s the clubs decision to make. The player signed a contract and without going through an unthinkable and insanely expensive litigation process (which will rob the player of years of his career) would be expected to remain employed to the culmination of that deal.
This concept is not new, yet in the last 12/18 months there has been a subtle but significant shift in the balance between having money to spend compared to having talent already within the squad. Take Roman Abromivich’s real-world Football Manager experiment that started in 2003; that first summer he signed 11 players for a total of £121.3m. This included Makelele and Geremi from Real Madrid, Veron from Man Utd, Crespo from Inter and somehow Scott Parker from the colossal Charlton. Their record purchase that summer was Damien Duff for £17m from Blackburn.
All of these clubs from big to small looked at the millions of pounds being offered and felt their best option was to take the money. Cash in the bank could be reinvested; if the offer was paying over the odds, it was better to take the premium and look to upgrade with the increased funds.
However, this balance has moved. With an entire league of clubs flush with cash due to TV billions, commercial clamour for involvement swelling coffers further, super-rich foreign owners proliferate throughout Europe and lucrative new markets opening up in the East, many clubs around Europe have significant sums to spend should they find the appropriate talent available. However finding that talent is now the limiting factor. Having £100m to spend is all well and good but teams are struggling to find the requisite players to spend it on. And with this shifting attitude comes a change in the power structure within the player / club relationship. Where once a player could push for a transfer and the club would take any premium over the player’s expected value rather than having to deal with an unhappy player, now clubs cannot see value in selling a player even with a considerable premium, if there is not going to be guaranteed opportunity to reinvest, attaining relative parity to where they were before the original sale.
Currently there is considerably more incentive for the club to sit back and wait for the transfer window to slam shut and test the players resolve. If it’s Virgil Van Dijk telling the club he doesn’t feel able to play while not getting the requested transfer, how long after 1st September is he going to hold out when he has 5 years remaining on his contract, is 12 months away from a World Cup and is threatened with being docked every weeks wage sat in the stands?
Interestingly, agents seem to have been slow on the uptake; the logical transition for players within this environment would be for them to push for reduced length contracts (perhaps at some reduction in remuneration). Having 3 year terms increases the likelihood a player who becomes disillusioned with a club, will sit in the reserves for a season or even 2 allowing them to leave for free at the end of the contract. This option provides leverage for a player to push through a transfer. Yet 3 year terms are still a rarity for players under 30. Although expect this to change for those under 25 who believe they could further their careers instead of push for better terms and longer contracts. This balance is not necessarily here for the long run. I, like most people, think football has peaked in ever escalating tv revenues and the next package will be the first at a lower value than its predecessor but that’s a email for another time…
Anyway, my point was that a player wanting to leave doesn’t just get his wish whatever, and anyone saying otherwise is wrong. And for the record my belief is that all 3 of those players will still be at their respective clubs on 1st September, although I would be happy if VVD proved me wrong.
Ed Ern
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