Anatomy of a transfer: Everything you need to know

Whenever we hear that a player has signed a four-year contract with his club, we think that he will stay with his club for the next four years. But unfortunately, that isn’t the case for 95% of players, because another club might make an offer the club or the player cannot refuse. Even though transfers are important in the world of football, we don’t know much about what goes into completing the deal. Here, I will look to provide a comprehensive view about transfers.

What is a transfer?

A transfer is simply put, the player changing one club for another during a particular window. For this, we should ask some questions.

1. How can a club allow themselves to sell a player?
2. Why are there contracts then if players can leave?
3. Is there a compensation for the team that loses their player?
4. Can a player be unemployed, i.e., without a club?
5. Is there an option to sign a player temporarily?
6. Even if they agree on compensation, can they still lose out on a player?
7. Can medical problems hamper a deal?
8. Who are transfer agents? What are their roles in this business?
9. Does the media play a role in a transfer?

Let’s see the answer to all these questions.

1. There are many scenarios where a club has to sell a player:

a. The club is financially strapped and they have to overcome their debt, eg: Santi Cazorla from Malaga to Arsenal.

b. The club is too small for a player, i.e., like a big fish in a small pond, for example Alex Oxlade Chamberlain in Southampton and Nick Powell in Crewe.

c. The player has aspirations to play for a particular team.eg: Cesc Fabregas from Arsenal to Barcelona.

d. The player is not part of a manager’s plans. Eg: Dimitar Berbatov from Manchester United to Fulham.

e. The player has disciplinary problems, eg: Joey Barton from QPR to Marseille on loan (to be discussed in Q.7).

There are too many scenarios to discuss at this stage.

2. A contract for a particular length of time is not exactly a reassurance that the player will stay for a particular amount of time. But it certainly helps in increasing the value of a player in the transfer market. For example, a player with one-year left on his contract has less value than one with a four-year contract. Also, signing a contract indicates that the player is ready to co-operate with his manager and will be part of the team for some more time.

3. This compensation, is in fact, the transfer fee agreed between two clubs for a player. This transfer fee depends on various factors such as:

a. The number of years left on the contract:

If a player on a three-year contract is to be sold, this means the team loses three years worth of services from the player. Depending on whether the player is a star or a squad player(to be discussed next), the fee will vary.

b. The importance of a player:

Robin Van Persie, when he was an unknown commodity, was signed by Arsenal for 2.75 million. Eight seasons later, he was sold to Manchester United for 24 million. This is because of his importance in the team. Van Persie two seasons back would be barely worth 10 million. So, the importance of a player plays a role in the fee.

c. How important a player is to the club:

Unless billions of euros were offered to Barcelona, they wouldn’t let go of Lionel Messi. That is how important he is to Barca. He is the virtual face of Barca. Barca know that he is more than a player. He is an asset.

d. Age

In a dream world, Arsenal would be wishing Van Persie was 25 and had four years remaining on his contract, to go with his current performances. Then his transfer fee would reach unimaginable proportions. If you are a young guy who wants to break into a class team, teams would pay more for you than a 38-year old Alessandro Del Piero.

There are more factors, but these are the most important.

4. A free agent is a person whose contract with a club has expired but has also not been able to negotiate an extension. In that case, they are left club-less. Some players deliberately become free agents, knowing that clubs will come after them, as happened for Junior Hoilett’s move to QPR.

5. A loan is agreed between two clubs for a player when:

a. A young player seeking first-team football experience moves to a club for a fixed amount of time.

b.A player is dead-weight for a club but has no other club interested in buying him, so goes on loan. Eg: Andrei Arshavin from Arsenal to Zenit. St. Petersburg.

c. A club is suffering from debt/have an injury crisis, and turn to loan deals to help them out.

6. Even when they agree on a transfer fee, the job isn’t done yet. The player in question has to set his demands as far as salary and other personal motivations go. There are situations where two or three clubs agree on a fee for the player (Eden Hazard), leaving the player to choose where he wants to go. At the end, it is not just the club, but the player also, who must agree.

7. A medical is mandatory for a player before signing a contract with a club. It is considered a formality in a vast majority of cases, with very few cases of a failed medical jeopardising a deal.

8. A transfer agent deals with negotiations for the player as far as personal terms go. The negotiators try to get the best deals for their clients.

9. Some deals are caused due to media frenzy. Some reporter drinking coffee at his office combines some logical chains of events and forms a transfer rumor about a player even though the player is nowhere near leaving his club. The newspapers then publish the rumor. 95% of the time these are dismissed, but sometimes the player might think about it and hand in a transfer request following the story.

Now let’s see how to make a transfer possible:

Let us consider a player ‘X’ playing for Newcastle United. He has been performing consistently for quite a while. He is 23 and plays in central midfield. He is very good at making tackles and has great vision.

Newcastle have played the group stages of the Europa League and he has played five out of the six games. ‘X’ notices that the scouts from Liverpool, Manchester United and Arsenal have gathered to watch him play. He suddenly thinks of the club he is playing for, Newcastle. He knows that the team is far away from a trophy win. Fortunately for him, the January transfer window is opening. He consults his agent ‘Y’ before finally handing in a transfer request.

The aforementioned clubs suddenly start making changes to accommodate him in their lineup. Manchester United have loaned out their under-performing midfielder ‘A’ to a La Liga team. They are the first team to bid for ‘X’. But their bid falls well behind Newcastle’s evaluation of 12 million. Manchester United, due to their lack of resources, pull out of the race to sign ‘X’.

Arsenal and Liverpool also make bids for ‘X’. But by now, Newcastle’s performances have dipped because of a disharmony between the players due to X’s transfer request. The Newcastle manager realises that he has to sell his player at any cost.

With three years remaining on his contact, Newcastle aren’t under any pressure. But as the manager insists, the owners agree that he has to leave anyway. ‘Z’ is signed from AC Milan.

Arsenal and Liverpool’s bids match Newcastle’s evaluation. Now it is up to ‘X’ to choose his club. It is January 31. The agent meets up with both the clubs and informs the player that Liverpool are offering better wages than Arsenal. But the player realises that the key midfielder for Arsenal ‘S’ has been ruled out till April. So he thinks that he can cement his spot at Arsenal easier than in Liverpool. With five hours to go, he leaves St. James’ Park for the last time and reaches London by 8pm, with three hours to go. He reaches the medical centre where he is supposed to have a medical. After two hours he comes out, having passed of course, and reaches the place where he will sign the contract. After half an hour, ‘X’ is unveiled as the new no. 4 of Arsenal, 20 minutes before the transfer window shuts. He doesn’t play a part in Arsenal’s semi-final run in the Champions League as he was cup-tied, having played in the Europa League earlier in the season.

So, there you have it. This is the world of transfers. Hope this has been an educational experience for you readers. Thanks for reading!