Why does a footballer need one of these? I know footballers are thick, but really so thick they don't know what kind of contract they want? Or just so busy(sarcasm) that they have no time to arrange a move? Can't make or answer a phone call? What am I missing?
That's funny - I was having that exact thought a couple of hours ago. I guess that, first off, footballers have income from things other than football - sponsorship deals, advertising etc. Agents must be the ones who bother to phone/answer calls from Nike, Adidas etc and work out which one is the best deal for their client. Could the footballer just do this themselves? No doubt. Would they get as good deals from the very astute businessmen at Nike etc? Probably not. But then again an agent will have to get you a better deal than you'd get yourself since they'll be taking a percentage (anyone know a figure?) of that deal. One thing's for sure - agents must absolutely love a transfer. Big payday. They get a percentage of the signing fee and a percentage of the no-doubt improved salary at the new club. I guess that from a player's point of view what they gain out of an agent re transfers is a) a skilled (?) negotiator on their side and, possibly more important, b) a link into a whole network of managers, teams and other players. Your agent won't just be your agent. They might represent players at lots of other clubs, even managers. So they know what's going on at these other clubs, they have an excuse to be hanging around other clubs and, whilst they're there talking to their other client, perhaps might drop your name into a quick conversation with the manager. An agent will know details of other players' contracts. This will put you in a stronger position when negotiating your own. I'm just guessing that this whole network of players, clubs and managers is what agents offer. Imagine a player just on their own who wants a move. They can hardly pick up the phone to managers at other clubs or have any idea how much player x is getting at their own club or some other. I guess you'd be pretty isolated compared to players with agents. Having said all of that what's the worst that could happen if you don't have an agent? You might just end up with a contract and sponsorship deals that make you very wealthy rather than extremely wealthy. Agents are certainly a problem and their talking to other clubs/the media should be seen as being as bad as players doing it themselves (they are, after all, the player's representatives). One last thing - we concentrate on the upper end of the footballing world on here. But I bet there are many professional footballers who simply would not be playing for a club today if it were not for their agents. Players who really need to scrape around looking for a club and a contract. No doubt they could not scour the country/continent for work in a way that a decent agent could.
Me and you know quite simply from picking up the paper about who is interested in who....along with the net etc. Not to mention what kind of wages are flying around, if indeed, one does need to make a wage comparison. No doubt the players know this too. After that I would just get on the phone and get the number of the manager, from the club. As for sponsorship deals...if a company wants you to endorse their product...they can contact you in a minute by contacting your club, if they really want you. It really is that simple,it must be. Footballers cannot be that busy.
Remember not all footballers/footballers parents are privy to knowledge of the football world/transfer market. Some will still be in school and have agents from 14/15 that will try and get them deals at big clubs. Parents can't always afford to follow their children abroad to say... France but agents can and will "look after them". So from a young age you already have a heavy influence. Can't speak for others but when I was 13/14 I barely knew how to set the table for a Sunday Roast never mind set up a transfer to a big club and begin negotiations with them etc
You would if your kid was getting interest. I know I would. You don't have to know everything to know what is required to help your kid sign a contract etc. Money is an easy language to understand.
Not the perfect deal but surely not so crap that you give someone a massive percentage. Lets say your right about the young kid getting his first contract. Why would a well renowned player signing a contract at the age of 25+ need an agent? I don't think he does.
Often doing negotiations through a mediator makes them much more satisfactory. Having an agent allows players to make demands on their clubs without having to get involved in often tense, embarrassing, unsavoury conversations. Take the Walcott contract renewal for example, he's still practically a boy, if you were to put him in a room with the Arsenal board you can imagine he would cave pretty quickly to their terms. It would be pretty intimidating for him to be put into a room with a load of people who are twice or three times his age and with infinitely more business acumen than he has. The agent would have no problem being a bastard to his player's club, whereas I imagine many players would just accept the first offer that came on the table through loyalty/ignorance.
You say we know these things but I'm not so sure we do. Most of what we know is media speculation. This time last year I was reading that Modric was on anything from 45 to 75 k a week. Plus the actual figure will be a very complex calculation based on appearance bonuses, win bonuses etc. When Riise's payslip was put on line several years ago it was notable what a low percentage of it was "basic wage". I certainly don't want to defend agents but I definitely acknowledge that there is probably a very big gap between the actual business of football and what us fans think we know about transfer fees, wages and clubs' bank balances.
Even if a footballer had the knowledge and confidence to conduct his own affairs the big factor is time and peace of mind. He needs to be able to concentrate on his job giving 100% concentration to playing football. All the rest, contract negotiations, sponsorship deals, advertising contracts, tax affairs, investments, legalities, after retirement plans, and so on can all be passed to an agent to handle. Most 'creative' people need agents, actors, singers, writers and so on just so that they can give their mind to the creative process and perform to the best of their ability.
I find it amusing how long contract negotiations take - like a player was a nuclear weapon reduction treaty or something. You sit down, you argue, you make a deal. Maybe you have to go back once or even twice but you hear about these things lasting months. I can only assume this is only reporting the gaps between meetings because if it's not I can't imagine what they have to talk about. Yes it's a complex thing these days, but business contracts on big deals are more complex - and they can get done more quickly. I think there were some Yugoslav war criminals that were captured, sent to the Hague, tried and convicted before Walcott's contract "negotiations" were done.
Paul Scholes has never had an agent at any point in his career, with the PFA in charge of his contract negotiations - negotiations that are tied up in a matter of hours, rather than days, weeks or months as is the case with a lot of players.
I think a lot of it is foreign players as well, the agents will help them settle into their new country, maybe translate a bit or help them buy houses in the nicer parts of town etc.
Agents aren't really a problem as long as they're not the ones in control and the clubs don't have to actually pay them anything. If a player wants to pay somebody to represent his interests, then that's both understandable and probably a good idea, in a lot of cases. A lot of players do very, very stupid things on virtually a daily basis.
Talking about foreign players....have you noticed how there are fewer and fewer British players in the PL. What's happened to them? Is the British youngster no longer interested in playing football? They used to say in the North East,if they wanted a player they would yell down the nearest coal mine. I guess the Brit must have plenty of cash today and lots of things to do with it......so in come the "starving" Africans and others to replace them.
........and the "starving" Frenchmen of course. Who could forsee British fans (ie Newcastle United) waving their new French flags in honour of the,what,12 Frenchmen at the club. Away the lads,wee wee!!!!
There are still plenty of English, Welsh and Irish players, from both the North and South, around the divisions, but Scottish players have become more scarce. They whole system up there needs an overhaul. The league's rubbish and they're not producing the talent any more.
I think there is a difference between 'agents' and 'advisers'. Having someone with the legal knowledge to see you through the minefield of contracts and the small print is common sense. But having someone who is there just to tout your talent around to the highest bidder is dangerous for both the player and football as a whole. Also it always strikes me as wrong when an agent demands a fee from the club when they move. The player should pay the agent and agree what and how they are payed when they pair up. Just because a player moves shouldn't mean an agent getting paid. Pay a retaining fee and maybe some bonus for when certain deals are done but that should purely be done by the player.
