Player transfers are probably the most public indicators of the vast amounts of money in the football industry. In recent years they’ve become more than just a player moving to another club. They’re now grand spectacles that play out in the public eye. And we’re all here for the show. The words “Manchester United transfers” are searched over 50,000 times a day. The words “Arsenal Transfers” are searched over 30,000 times a day.
Considering the amount of money involved, it comes as no surprise that transfers can be drawn out and complex affairs. With that being said, you may be wondering how transfers actually work in football.
In summary, A transfer is an incredibly complex transaction involving clubs, players, agents and several external parties. There are several aspects which determine the success or failures of a transfer.
Let’s take a closer look into what all of this means.
Table of Contents
What is a transfer?
This one’s simple. A transfer in football is where a player that plays for one club goes to another club and plays for them on a permanent basis. It’s kind of like when you leave your job to work for another company. Actually, it’s exactly like that, seeing as professional footballers play football for a living.
When do transfers happen?
In most football leagues around the world, there is a designated period whereby players are able to move clubs. In European football, there are two periods where they occur. These periods are referred to as “transfer windows”. The dates for transfer windows changes slightly from year to year. However, they are most commonly open at the end of a season and at the season’s midway point.
Clubs do sometimes negotiate with one another and agree on a transfer outside of these designated windows. But the actual transfer can only be made official during a transfer window.
Why do transfers happen?
Now this is where things get a little more complicated. Much like leaving any job, there are several reasons for why players transfer to other clubs. To understand why this happens, it may be worthwhile to look at the reasons from the perspectives of the player and the club.
Why do players transfer clubs?
The reasons for why a player may want to transfer to another club include, but are not limited to the following.
Playing time
This is likely the most common reason for players leaving clubs. Perhaps there is intense competition for places and a player repeatedly does not get picked in the starting 11. They may then seek a club that has less competition.
Disagreements with the manager
The manager is usually the person with the most control over who starts matches and who is included in the squad. If there is bad blood between a player and a manager, it may lead to a toxic environment.
An example of a player falling out with the manager, leading a transfer, is David Beckham. Beckham left Manchester United for Real Madrid in 2003. Sir Alex Ferguson (The manager at the time) believed that Beckham thought himself to be above the manager and that that reflected in his performances.
Home sickness
This may seem trivial, but it is a reality. Clubs in the European leagues often sign foreign players. African and South American players, in particular, travel very far to pursue their dreams of becoming footballers.
Often when this dream comes true, they battle to adjust and may request a transfer as a result of this. A very interesting study on the impact of homesickness in footballers can be found here.
Ambition
Football players are athletes first and foremost. Competitiveness and the desire to win the competitions comes with the territory. If a player feels that their club does not reflect their ambition, a transfer is may be on the cards.
There are several cases where players move clubs and state that they moved to have a better chance of winning trophies.
One such example is Romelu Lukaku moving to Manchester United from Everton. This one didn’t work out as planned, as he ended up leaving the club without a trophy. But the intention was there.
Playing for their dream club
Something that is often forgotten about football players is that at the end of the day, they are just like us: fans of the game. Something or someone inspired them to play the game in the first place.
From that perspective, it’s not hard to imagine that they grew up being fans of a particular club. If the stars align and playing for their dream club becomes a possibility, they will surely jump at that opportunity.
It’s worth noting that sometime players are willing to make the switch to their dream club, even when the club they currently play for is successful.
A good example of this is Cristiano Ronaldo transferring from Manchester united to Real Madrid in 2009. It can be argued that Manchester united were the better team at that point in time. However, perhaps that argument is for another day.
Their contract is running out
Football contracts typically only last for short periods of time (2-5 years at most). If a player is coming to the end of their contract, and their club does not offer to renew it, they have no choice but to find another club.
It’s worth noting that the decision not to renew the contract may come from the player themselves. In which case, they would be choosing to leave on their own accord
Money
Another clear and obvious reason is that a player simply just wants a pay raise. And contrary to popular belief, there is nothing wrong with that! If employer X is willing to offer more money than Employer Y, very few people would resist the urge to jump ship.
Why do clubs sell players?
Bad behaviour
Contrary to popular belief, a football club is a professional environment. It can be easy for us as fans to forget this, as we grew up playing football for fun.
I imagine, for that same reason, it can be easy for players to forget that too. When a player misbehaves or is flat out unprofessional, a club may choose to take disciplinary action, which could lead to a transfer.
To discourage misbehavior, clubs have even been known to put clauses in players contracts that give incentives for good behavior.
For example, when Mario Balotelli signed for Liverpool, there was a £1 million bonus inserted in his contract. This bonus would only be paid if he succeeded in not getting 3 red cards over the course of his first season.
In addition, when signing for Barcelona, Luis Suarez had a “no-bite” clause included in his contract. This clause stated that the club could fine him up to £4.5 million if he bites a player on the pitch.
Managers tactics
In most sports, there are several philosophies and ways to approach the game from a tactical perspective. Likewise, not every football manager thinks the same. If a manager requires small, agile players to carry out their footballing philosophy, the larger, more robust players may not be suitable to the system.
In that case, it would be advised that the larger player seeks a club or manager that values a player with their characteristics.
It’s worth noting that it’s entirely possible that this is not a personal decision on the part of the manager.
Money
Sometimes a club may need a financial boost. And even if they are not financially in need, making more money is always an attractive prospect. In that case, selling a player may be a good option.
There are several high-profile scenarios whereby clubs have been forced to sell players to improve their financial situation. One such case involved AC Milan selling Ricardo Kaka to Real Madrid in 2009. Kaka was sold to Real Madrid for £56 million.
Kaka’s agent has since come out saying that the Brazilian did not want to leave but was instead forced out to help with the club’s financial struggles.
Moreover, if a club knows that the player that they are selling has high potential, they may even opt to include a sell-on clause during negotiations. This is a clause that states that if the player that they are selling is ever sold once more, the selling cub is entitled to a share of the profits made by that subsequent sale.
A good example of this is Raheem Sterling moving from Liverpool to Manchester City. Queens Park Rangers (QPR) initially sold Raheem Sterling to Liverpool for £500,000 in 2010 with a 20% sell-on clause. He was later sold to Manchester City for £44 million in 2015.
It was reported that QPR made a minimum of £7.8 million from that second sale. Almost 16 times more than they initially signed him for.
Business model
This is one step further than the club simply needing money. Some clubs groom players from a young age or buy players for cheap specifically so they can sell them for a profit later.
These clubs can also be referred to as “selling clubs”. In many cases, these clubs are well respected and perform well, but they are not considered to be amongst the most elite clubs. As a result of this, these clubs sometimes act as an intermediary step for players before joining a bigger club for a large fee.
Examples of 3 clubs that include selling players for profit in their business plan are shown in the table below.
| Club name | Country | Transfer income (2010-2020) | Notable players sold |
|---|---|---|---|
| S.L. Benfica | Portugal | £1 billion | Joao Felix, Nemanja Matic, Nelson Semedo, |
| AS Monaco FC | France | £901 million | Kyllian Mbappe, Bernardo Silva, Fabinho |
| Southampton FC | England | £420 million | Virgil Van Dyk, Sadio Mane, Luke Shaw |
Release clause activated
A release clause is a statement in a player’s contract that essentially say that if a club offers X amount of money, a club forfeits their ability to contest the transfer.
Understandably clubs don’t want to lose their star players. However, if a player’s release clause is met by another club, then the decision to leave rests solely on the player.
The most notorious case of a release clause being paid despite a club not wanting to sell is the transfer of Neymar from Barcelona to Paris Sant Germain (PSG). In 2017, PSG paid Neymar’s release clause of £192 million to sign him. This has led to clubs setting massive release clauses in their players contracts to avoid this from happening again.
After the Neymar incident, Barcelona increased the release clauses of Sergio Busquets, Samual Umtiti, Jordi Alba and Gerard Pique to £450 million.
In addition, Antoine Griezmann was signed with a £725 million release clause in 2019. Safe to say Barcelona were trying to cover their bases.
Why do clubs buy players?
Strengthening the squad
Simply put, buying the best players significantly increases your chances of building a great team. Of course, having the fastest and prettiest car does not make you the best driver, but without it you may struggle to be the best.
In the early 2000s, Real Madrid popularized the trend of buying the absolute best players in order to compete to their highest capabilities. These players were called the “Galacticos”.
Translating directly from Spanish, galactico means “galactic”. Galacticos were said to possess otherworldly playing ability and were brought together to form a super team.
However, these players were not only brought in for their appeal on the pitch.
Strengthening the brand
A side effect of being a good player is that people start to take notice of you. Not just football clubs and managers, but supporters as well. With that attention, players have the power to influence popular culture. Club’s have realised that with the best players they are able to extend their brand, by association.
When players move to different teams, they take their fans with them. A good example of this is Mohamed Salah moving to Liverpool in 2017. Since he has been at the club, many Egyptians have claimed that “when Mo plays for Liverpool, the country stops to watch”.
How do clubs buy players?
Club discussions
When the buying club is interested in a player from the selling club, they are required to approach the selling club first to express this interest. If the selling club is willing to entertain offers for their player, they may choose to enter negotiations.
In many cases, transfers don’t even make it passed this point, as clubs don’t usually like to lose their players.
If negations continue, then the two clubs will then discuss the terms of the transfer, including the fees and logistics. At this point are several things that can go wrong to cause a breakdown of negotiations.
However, I’m not going to pretend like I know all the ins and outs of how each transfer works. Unfortunately I don’t.
Interestingly, it has been reported that transfer discussions mostly take place over WhatsApp. The reason for this being that WhatsApp gives you the ability to see if someone has read your message. To learn more about how clubs make enough money to afford transfers, check out this article.
Player discussions
Once the technicalities and financial aspect of the transfer have been agreed up by the two clubs, the selling club may then grant the buying cub permission to negotiate with the player. After all, if a player is still under contract, the ultimate decision to leave or stay at the club rests solely on the player.
To assist players in negotiating the best deal possible for them, they often choose to employ external agents.
What do football agents do?
The main responsibility of an agent is to negotiate on the behalf of a player. This benefits the player, as they may not be familiar with the legalities or technicalities involved with a transfer.
For some players, the role of an agent extends far beyond that of simply a third-party negotiator. Some agents advise several aspects of a player’s life, from their personal purchases to how they spend their time.
Due to the level of trust that a player must put in their agent, some players choose to have family members represent them. For example, Lionel Messi is represented by his father.
Despite this, external agents can also foster close relationships with their clients. One famous “super-agent”, Mino Raiola has a reputation of being incredibly close to his players.
It’s been reported that when Mario Balotelli’s house was set on fire, the first person he called was Mino Raiola. Of course, Raola advised that he contact the fire department.
In the past, several clubs have claimed that agents are difficult to work with. This is because they usually act in the best interest of the player and seldom work in favour of the club. When speaking of Mino Raiola in his book Leading, Sir Alex Ferguson even went as far as saying “I distrusted him from the moment I met him”
Who gets the money from the transfer?
This is highly dependent on the nature of the transfer and the contract signed. The transfer fee usually goes to the buying club. From there, they must pay for the services that were used to negotiate the transfer. These service fees might include legal fees, accounting fees, backroom staff wages etc.
The club may then use the money left over to purchase additional players, or simply to replace the sold player. After Selling Gareth Bale to Real Madrid for £86 million in 2014, Tottenham Hotspurs bought 7 players.
The Player’s agent fees may also be included in the transfer fee. Mino Raiola, who was Paul Pogba’s agent is said to have received £40 million in agent fees from Pogba’s transfer from Juventus to Manchester United.
However, this case is an anomaly, as he represented Manchester United, Juventus and Paul Pogba within this particular transfer. Don’t ask me how that was set up.
In addition, players have been known to receive a cut of the transfer deals. After transferring to Newcastle United from Deportivo La Coruna, Albert Luque was paid £1.9 million by his former employer. This represented 15% of his transfer fee.
To learn more about how footballers earn an income, check out this article.
Controversial transfer tactics
It won’t surprise many to learn that the general rules of transfers are not always followed. It is reported that clubs and players frequently partake in controversial tactics to ensure that transfers take place.
Amongst these tactics, the most frequently reported ones include the following.
Tapping up
As previously said, a buying club must first consult with a selling club before being allowed to talk to the player. Despite this, many clubs talk directly to the player first to convince them to join, without the knowledge of the selling club. This is referred to as “tapping up”.
In English football, there are explicit rules against this that written into their official rules and guidelines. Breaching these rules leaves a club liable to a fine and potentially a transfer ban.
Liverpool were found to be guilty of tapping up of a youth player in 2017, and were subsequently fined £100,000. They were also handed a two-year youth academy transfer ban.
Players going on strike
It is arguable that players going on strike is a direct result of tapping up. If a player would like to leave a club, but their club is refusing to entertain the approach of any buying club, a player may take matters into their own hands. This could include refusing to attend training sessions.
Players have even been accused of feigning injuries to avoid playing in matches. The idea behind this is that their club may eventually become frustrated with the player and sanction their transfer to rid themselves of the negative behaviour.
An example of a player going on Strike is Ousmane Dembele. When Barcelona were interested in signing him from Borussia Dortmund, Dembele infamously refused to play another minute for the German club. Eventually the transfer went through.
What are the different kinds of transfers?
There are several different kinds of transfers that are used by clubs. However, I’ve compiled a list of 6 common transfer types below.
Conventional transfer
In this transfer, a player simply moves to another club on a permanent basis after an agreement is found by all parties.
Transfer with buy back option
Transfers that include a buyback clause are no different than conventional transfers in how they are executed. The only difference being that if the player improves, the initial selling club has the option of buying the player back.
There is usually a minimum fee agreed between the two clubs to activate this clause. The final decision to return does still rest on the player.
Free transfer
Two clubs may agree on the transfer of a player for no fee. This may be as part of a show of good faith or to strengthen the relationship between the two clubs.
A free transfer may also occur as a result of a player’s contract running out. In this case, they may either need a new club or may be refusing to sign an extension with their current club.
Juventus has a habit of signing many players on free transfers. These players include Aaron Ramsey, Adrian Rabiot and Dani Alves, to name a few.
Swap deal
Sometimes two clubs may decide to swap players instead of opting for traditional fee-based transfers. The players that are swapped usually play in the same or similar positions, so it basically works out as a like-for-like swap.
An example of this is the swap of Henrik Mkhitaryan moving from Manchester United to Arsenal. Alexis Sanchez moved in the opposite direction.
Loan deal
This is a temporary transfer whereby a player moves to a different club (loaning club) for specified time period. They will then return to their initial club (parent club) at the end of the loan period. For a more detailed description of loan deals, check out this article.
Loan with obligation to buy
A regular loan deal is usually taken in order to fill gaps in a squad on a short-term basis. On the other hand, a loan with an obligation to buy is taken when a club is interested in buying the player but isn’t entirely convinced.
When the regular loan period is finished in this deal, the loaning club has the option of buying the player outright. The purchasing price for the player, should the loaning club choose to buy, is set before the initial loan period. The loaning club is not obligated to buy the player, as the name suggests.
This loan option gives clubs a relatively low risk method of testing out a player before making a purchase. An example of this type of deal is Kylian Mbappe’s transfer from Monaco to PSG in 2017.
Closing thoughts
A transfer is an incredibly complex transaction involving clubs, players, agents and several external parties. This article has only touched the tip of the iceberg in the wild world of football transfer. But hopefully it can act as a decent introductory guide.