transfer window is a strange and wonderful place. The previous minute was forwarding screenshots of emails or player contracts, and the next minute, you would receive a reminder from WhatsApp, "Tell the shit agent who leaked these things, go to death!"
In the UK, the official opening time of the transfer window is from June 10 to September 1. A lot of things happened during this period, but in fact this was a conversation that has been held all year long, but it was not recorded every minute.
Most operations involving agents, players, managers, sports directors, signing supervisors and bosses are on the edge. Neither formal nor informal, in between. The task of journalists is to try to extract information from the gray area, obtain content in a comprehensive way, and then "organize" it to write to the point where it can be published.
In the fight at the transfer window, many similar clips have never been reported. Either these things are no longer important, or they may endanger the source of information and cannot be published, or they are too ridiculous or rude to be accepted.
Through tracking the thoughts and phone records of Athletic reporters, we will reveal some stories behind the transfer window. Often, for obvious reasons, we have to hide the names of clubs, players, agents.
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Now, start with a key element: clubs often use third parties to complete transfers.
This third party may be a fully recognized agent, or may not be, sometimes referred to as a mediator or broker. But one thing is certain, they allow the club to bid and discuss with other clubs, players and people involved, laying the foundation for the transfer and keeping the negotiations within the right scope because it is illegal for the club to reach players from other clubs, thus ensuring that the parties have reached an agreement before any official news comes out.
But not all transfer transactions are carried out in this way, and many clubs and brokers operate transparently. But in general, if the transfer party can reach an agreement secretly to avoid some PR issues, such as some ridiculous offers, or the player chooses a club of interest and does not go to other clubs. This way they are not found by the media and are generally considered the best practice.
There was a good example last month.
A Premier League club uses a third party to quote players, which is also linked to a European club. The owner of another England team told them that if they want to sign a player, they should contact the third party working for them directly. In short, both clubs are using third parties to resolve transfer issues privately.
Buyer's Club's third party makes a quote to the seller's club for player transfer, and then passes the quote to the seller's club's boss.
Athletic asked the buyer club a third party if it could report that the club had already made a offer, but the amount of the offer was not enough for the seller club to accept it. The third party stressed that if the news is reported, the official representative of the Buyer’s Club is likely to publicly deny that there had been a bid.
In order to confirm that the club has already made a bid, the third party of the buyer club sent screenshots of the conversation between the two parties through WhatsApp.
Meanwhile, while it is obvious that the buyer has made a offer, a senior source at the seller’s club denied any contact with the buyer.
In this case, the club can use the word "official". If such exchanges have been conducted between third parties and no results have been achieved, the club can be hidden behind the third party, claiming that there is actually no connection between the club and the club.
Usually clubs are unwilling to send written quotes, but choose verbal quotes because they do not want black and white quotes to be seen by other interested groups, thus becoming "this is the quote they provide, beat him, the player is yours", which is very worrying.
Another way clubs can also legally use it is that multiple agents may play for one player in the gray area between official/unofficial, verbal/nonverbal and formal/informal.
Whether in China or elsewhere in the world football, agents are often "commissioned" by clubs to sell players or introduce players. However, problems arise when multiple agents operate player transfers in different countries.
For example, during this summer's transfer window, an international player found that an agent wanted to sell him to an Italian club, and the British club he played for hadn't even told him that he could leave the team.
However, the club will choose the opportunity.
Usually, they are willing to disclose information that may only exist between third parties, thereby increasing the price of players. Public auctions are of course very beneficial, and sometimes clubs may falsely report numbers for the sake of profit. Therefore, there must be at least two sources of information on transfer news, which is the best practice even if it causes slight delays.
When a club wants to retain a player, information deviation will occur again, whether it is because of the player's level or because there is no substitute.
Speaking of authorization, one of the biggest stars in football, C Ronaldo , only one of his career has been authorized, that is, super agent Mendes . When the transfer window just ended, it was obvious that many clubs including Chelsea were discussing whether Ronaldo could leave Manchester United . However, not all teams can be reported.
Why? Because of the private nature of Zoom meetings, it is usually only Mendes and a sports director or boss who participates in the meeting. Athletic learned from more than one channel that they had a conversation with Mendes about signing Ronaldo, but if the news was reported, the source would be exposed, threatening their relationship. This information may be released at some stage in the future.
Those with the highest price will win players
Another problem is to sell players to those with the highest bid.
During the transfer window, a club proposed to loan a player to other teams, thereby reducing wage expenditure. As the deadline approaches, the club requotes through commissioned agents from several countries, and players’ salaries are reduced by 50%. Additionally, when the player finally decided to transfer, the seller's club admitted to the salary cut in private conversations because the player was injured and the club feared he might not pass the physical examination and offered a more attractive price.
A club president once joked in a private conversation that only the teams from local fast food restaurants are interested in signing his players. Sometimes, the cruelty of football is also reflected in the transfer window.
transactions may fail dramatically at the last minute.
A broker told Athletic that a Premier League club tore up a proposed transfer contract in the final stages of negotiations, thus proving that they will not mess around in the future.
When an English Championship player is associated with a Premier League club, the Premier League club coach was directly asked whether the deal is feasible. The manager confirmed that while he learned about the interest in the player elsewhere and he admired the player, the club told him that there was no money to spend, which made him very frustrated that it was a deal that would not happen.
Another agent revealed that he had seen a player arrive at a new club for an interview, taking all the necessary photos and official social media announcement videos, but exiting the deal at the last minute, and eventually all the footage remained in the editing room.
The agent also mentioned another example, a player ran half of England and was told during a physical examination that the club was no longer interested in him.
To prove another deal is in progress, The Athletic received a full schedule including the location where a player had a medical MRI scan when he transferred from a Premier League club to another. Obviously, this information cannot be disclosed due to privacy requirements.
But the specific details of the negotiation are sometimes exposed to people.
There is an example where The Athletic obtained an email record between a club's athletic director and another club owner, in addition to a separate conversation between the agent and the parties, showing how difficult it is to finally reach an agreement. In a message sent to the agent, one club stressed that it was impossible for them to deal with another because it was too difficult to get a suitable price.
In this case, a seller club head coach learned that the player would be sold for a certain price, insisted that this would affect the team getting the desired replacement, so he told the club owner that the terms of the deal must be changed. The coach also met with a striker from another club and believed that he was not suitable for his team. This happens more than it is reported.
had a deal close to completion but failed at the last minute, mainly due to an unexpected turn on a Zoom conference call. A club head coach and agent spoke with a new player to sign, who was surrounded by his advisers. The head coach's agent said he hopes to get a share of the deal with the club if the transfer is completed. So the problem arose, and when he raised it, the player's agent decided to suspend the negotiations.
Another strange situation is that a player visited multiple clubs to discuss possible transfers. He appeared on one Premier League training ground and reached a verbal agreement with another target. The player is said to have also tried to convince another player to complete the deal with a club. Finally, the two players played for the same team, and this accidental encounter had a wonderful ending.
However, the situation is often less harmonious.
Inflatable transfer market
A player participated in the club's meeting after renting out for a season, hoping to sign a new contract, but the conversation took an unexpected turn. The club has agreed to exercise a one-year option in the player contract, but forgetting that his performance has triggered a salary increase clause for the new season. When the player agent informed the club of the fact in the final discussion, the club violated the agreement and said they were reluctant to pay. There is no doubt that the player decided to leave.
As we all know, when transferring to trains, several ticket sellers will wait at the Renaissance Hotel at St Pancras Railway Station in central London. According to a reporter, he saw several brokers from multiple companies holding meetings several times in this conveniently transported tourist center within a day.
Starting from the early stages of the transfer window, Premier League clubs and agents are talking about "absurd" or "stupid" transfer fees, which has led some clubs to suspend their transfer plans and completely reassess the transfer expenses, and the transfer market is even more inflated than they expected.
The internal politics of the club often adds extra dimension to the crazy transfer window.
A boss complained that their football director completed a deal, insisting that it was all their credit. The boss even said that the football director said they would have bid lower if they hadn't had to complete the transaction at the initial price they had agreed to.
. When new rich clubs such as Newcastle appear in the transfer market, a chain reaction will occur.
After the acquisition was completed in October last year, Newcastle had been associated with some big-name stars, but now Newcastle has taken a pragmatic approach in the transfer.
According to an insider who understands Newcastle's transfer operation, Newcastle's offer was greatly exaggerated on the basis of inflation of throughout the Premier League. Some also believe that the clubs negotiated with Newcastle are reluctant to make concessions on loans and permanent transfers.
transfer window At the beginning, Newcastle was still associated with players like Neymar and Draxler. During the winter transfer window, they also posted messages with big-name stars many times. However, by the end of June, the news had spread that Newcastle did not intend to sign ball players with high salaries. A famous Spanish agent said everyone knows that Newcastle is unwilling to sign players that top clubs don't want.
transfer value benchmarks can usually help or block the club.
Morgan White joined Nottingham Forest for a total price of £40 million, which strengthened the negotiation determination of other clubs.
agent made it clear that although the striker is always the most sought-after player, this summer is unique and many clubs want to sign the striker. If a striker is sold, it may be necessary to introduce a replacement at a high price. Many signing managers believe that this may be the reason why Dominic Lewin, Ivan Tony and Oli Watkins and others did not transfer.
The transfer price of these players is too high, and the transfer price of the other is too difficult to replace.
Many clubs feel that they are being led by their agents, and it seems that they are either fighting for new contracts for their clients or attracting other clubs. A Premier League team that is eager to buy an England international from competitors complains that their intentions have been leaked, encouraging players to raise their current clubs for renewal offer.
A broker who represented several young players said that considering the upcoming World Cup and the number of games this season, plus the ability to replace five substitutes in each game in the Premier League, he found that Premier League clubs are even less willing to loan young players out.
When the World Cup opened on December 18 and confetti fell on Qatar , there were only 13 days left before the opening of the winter transfer window on January 1.
Everything needs to be done again.
