"Juan Carlos Ferrero is aware he is not going to be paid like a coach of top player": Carlos Alcaraz's agent on how his coach was compensated early on

Carlos Alcaraz's agent, Albert Molina, recently opened up about how the compensation arrangement for the Spaniard's coach, Juan Carlos Ferrero, worked during the early stages of their partnership. Molina revealed that Ferrero was aware from the beginning that his payment would not be on par with that of a coach for a top player.

Alcaraz and Ferrero began their partnership when the Spaniard was just 16 years old. Under Ferrero's guidance, the World No. 3 won three Grand Slam titles - the 2022 US Open, the 2023 Wimbledon Championships, and most recently, the 2024 French Open where he defeated Alexander Zverev in the final.

In a recent interview, Albert Molina discussed how Carlos Alcaraz had managed to compensate an elite coach like Juan Carlos Ferrero at the start of his career. Molina, who has been working with IMG, a prominent global tennis management company, shared that he had identified Alcaraz as a promising talent in Spain and sought to represent him.

After receiving approval and funding from IMG's executives in America, Molina enlisted the expertise of Juan Carlos Ferrero. Molina explained that Ferrero understood he would not receive the same compensation as a coach for a top-ranked player when he agreed to work with Carlos Alcaraz.

"I talked to my bosses, I told them that in Spain there is a kid with a good projection and from the United States they give me OK. A part of the money helped us and Ferrero on the other hand. He makes the effort and invests in the future. When he accepts and starts working with Carlos, he is aware that he is not going to enter or be paid like a coach of a top player," Molina was quoted saying by El Partidazo de Cope (translated from Spanish).

However, Albert Molina emphasized that Ferrero is a forward-thinking individual who recognized the potential for long-term success by aligning himself with Carlos Alcaraz early in his career.

"Carlos invests in the future. And since we have a very good relationship... This is based a lot on personal relationships. Investing in the future is nice in the moment but then people can fail you. But Juan Carlos and I have a good relationship and we knew that what we agreed would later be fulfilled. And then the family has been very noble and always complied with what was said," he added.

"Juan Carlos Alcaraz saw Carlos Alcaraz compete, was convinced of the project" - Albert Molina on how the Spaniard and his coach started working together

Carlos Alcaraz with his team

In the aforementioned interview, Carlos Alcaraz's agent, Albert Molina, shared the story of how Juan Carlos Ferrero and World No. 2 began working together. Molina explained that he presented the idea of coaching the 15-year-old Alcaraz to Ferrero, hoping he would agree to take him under his wing.

"I had been telling him [Juan Carlos Ferrero] for a long time that I had a 14-year-old boy who I saw different things about. And we talked about how to introduce Carlos [Alacaraz] to the academy punctually because he was a plus in terms of training, technicians. At that time, Ferrero I was training [Alexander] Zverev and I couldn't push him much either," Molina said.

Molina proposed that Ferrero coach Alcaraz for junior tournaments in South America and Europe, even though he typically did not coach at that level. Despite this, Ferrero, impressed by the Spaniard's skills and witnessing him compete, agreed to coach him.

"I went with a proposal from a 15-year-old player, so that he could go to play in the juniors in South America and tournaments in Europe in a category that was not top level, to which Juan was used to. In the end he had already seen him, he came to Murcia, he saw him compete, he was convinced of the project, he liked it and we started working," he added.