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In professional
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
, a transfer is the action taken whenever a player under contract moves between clubs. It refers to the transferring of a player's registration from one association football club to another. In general, the players can only be transferred during a
transfer window In association football, a transfer window is the period during the year in which a football club, club can add players to their squad who were previously under contract with another club. Such a Transfer (association football), transfer is comp ...
and according to the rules set by a
governing body A governing body is a group of people that has the authority to exercise governance over an organization or political entity. The most formal is a government, a body whose sole responsibility and authority is to make binding decisions in a taken ...
(fulfilling the requirements of
FIFA The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...
, continental and national bodies regulating the purchasing and selling clubs). A negotiated transfer fee is agreed financial compensation paid from an interested club to the club that possesses the player's exclusive contracted playing rights. When a player moves from one club to another, their old
contract A contract is an agreement that specifies certain legally enforceable rights and obligations pertaining to two or more parties. A contract typically involves consent to transfer of goods, services, money, or promise to transfer any of thos ...
is terminated whilst the player and their new destination club will both negotiate on new contract terms (or have earlier mutually agreed on the personal terms). As such, the transfer fee functions as
financial compensation Financial compensation refers to the act of providing a person with money or other things of economic value in exchange for their goods, labor, or to provide for the costs of injuries that they have incurred. The aim of financial compensation ...
(paid to the club which possesses the existing playing rights) for the early mutually agreed termination of the contract of a professional football player. Transfer fees are contingent on the player’s current football abilities, future potential, duration of the existing contract, amount of future
salary A salary is a form of periodic payment from an employer to an employee, which may be specified in an employment contract. It is contrasted with piece wages, where each job, hour or other unit is paid separately, rather than on a periodic basis. ...
owed (within the remaining duration of the existing contract) and the willingness of clubs to agree on an
economic equilibrium In economics, economic equilibrium is a situation in which the economic forces of supply and demand are balanced, meaning that economic variables will no longer change. Market equilibrium in this case is a condition where a market price is es ...
through
supply and demand In microeconomics, supply and demand is an economic model of price determination in a Market (economics), market. It postulates that, Ceteris_paribus#Applications, holding all else equal, the unit price for a particular Good (economics), good ...
. A transfer in association football differs significantly to a
trade Trade involves the transfer of goods and services from one person or entity to another, often in exchange for money. Economists refer to a system or network that allows trade as a market. Traders generally negotiate through a medium of cr ...
in American, Canadian, and Australian sports, where teams essentially
trade Trade involves the transfer of goods and services from one person or entity to another, often in exchange for money. Economists refer to a system or network that allows trade as a market. Traders generally negotiate through a medium of cr ...
existing player contracts. However, cash or contract obligation can be used instead of or with a player - such as in Major League Baseball and the National Football League - to alleviate salary cap and other financial concerns. In some uncommon cases, however, transfers can function in a similar manner to player trades, as teams can offer another player on their squad as part of the compensation in the form of swap deals, in order to lower the financial compensation of the transfer fee. According to FIFA, from January to September 2018 there were 15,049 international transfers of male players with fees totalling US$7.1 billion, and 577 international transfers of female players for US$493,235. Most transfer activity is conducted during the European summer
transfer window In association football, a transfer window is the period during the year in which a football club, club can add players to their squad who were previously under contract with another club. Such a Transfer (association football), transfer is comp ...
(European pre-season window), that overlaps in between 1 July and 31 August of any given year (both dates inclusive), with slight variations of both the start date and end date, for each respective domestic league. Prominent transfers also occur during the European winter transfer window of 1–31 January. Most notably, the transfer deadline dates of the transfer windows are solely reliant upon the country jurisdiction of the purchasing club, in order to successfully perform the registration of newly transferred players (football clubs worldwide may agree to sell the playing rights of any contracted player at any time to another club whose country's transfer window is still open; in addition, free agents may be signed at any time outside the prescribed transfer windows).


History


Early days of transfers

The concept of a football transfer first came into existence in England after
The Football Association The Football Association (the FA) is the Sports governing body, governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Bailiwick of Guernsey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the oldest footb ...
(FA) introduced player registration sometime after 1885. Before that, a player could agree to play one or more matches for any football club. After the FA recognised professionalism in 1885, it sought to control professional players by introducing a player registration system. Players had to register with a club each season, even if he remained with the same club as in the season before. A player was not allowed to play until he was registered for that season. Once a player was registered with a club he was not allowed to be registered with or play for another club during the same season without the permission of the FA and the club that held his registration. However players were free to join another club before the start of each season, even if their former club wished to retain them. Sometime after the
Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...
was formed in 1888 the Football League decided to introduce the retain-and-transfer system, which restricted clubs from luring players from other clubs, thereby preventing clubs from losing their players and preventing the league from being dominated by a handful of rich clubs. From the start of the 1893–94 season onwards, once a player was registered with a Football League club, he could not be registered with any other club, even in subsequent seasons, without the permission of the club he was registered with. It applied even if the player's annual contract with the club holding their registration was not renewed after it expired. The club was not obliged to play them and, without a contract, the player was not entitled to receive a salary. Nevertheless, if the club refused to release his registration, the player could not play for any other Football League club. Football League clubs soon began to demand and earn a transfer fee from any other Football League club as
consideration Consideration is a concept of English law, English common law and is a necessity for simple contracts but not for special contracts (contracts by deed). The concept has been adopted by other common law jurisdictions. It is commonly referred to a ...
for agreeing to release or transfer the player's registration. In 1912 Charles Sutcliffe helped establish the legality of this retain-and-transfer system when he successfully represented his club Aston Villa during the Kingaby case. The former Villa player Herbert Kingaby had brought legal proceedings against the club for preventing him from playing. However an erroneous strategy pursued by Kingaby's counsel resulted in the suit being dismissed.David McArdle, LLB
PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...
,
The Football League's player registration scheme and the Kingaby case
'', accessed 16 December 2012
In England, the "retain" aspect of the system was removed after a decision by the High Court in 1963 in ''Eastham v Newcastle United'' that it was unreasonable.


1995: Bosman ruling

The transfer system remained unchanged until the Bosman ruling. The ruling is named after Jean-Marc Bosman, a former Belgian footballer who in 1990 was registered with
Belgian Cup The Belgian Cup (; ; ) is the main knockout football competition in Belgium, run by the Royal Belgian FA. The competition started in 1908 with provincial selections as the "Belgian Provinces Cup". Starting from 1912 only actual clubs were allowed ...
winners
RFC Liège Royal Football Club de Liège (more commonly known as RFC Liège) is a professional football club based in Liège, capital of Liège Province, Belgium. The team currently play in Challenger Pro League, the second tier in Belgian football. It ...
. His contract had expired and he was looking to move to French team Dunkerque, but Dunkerque refused to pay the transfer fee of £500,000 that Liège were asking for. Bosman was left in limbo and his wages were cut by 75% due to him not playing. After a lengthy legal battle, Bosman won his case on 15 December 1995 when the
European Court of Justice The European Court of Justice (ECJ), officially the Court of Justice (), is the supreme court of the European Union in matters of European Union law. As a part of the Court of Justice of the European Union, it is tasked with interpreting ...
ruled players should legally be free to move when their contract expired. The first high-profile "Bosman transfer" was Edgar Davids, who departed
Ajax Ajax may refer to: Greek mythology and tragedy * Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea * Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris * Ajax (play), ''Ajax'' (play), by the an ...
for
Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...
, but lasted just one year in Milan before moving to league rivals
Juventus Juventus Football Club (; from , ), commonly known as Juventus or colloquially as Juve (), is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Turin, Piedmont, who compete in Serie A, the ...
for a fee of over £5 million. The same summer, Luis Enrique made the controversial decision to let his
Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, th ...
contract run down by signing for league
rivals A rivalry is the state of two people or Social group, groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each ...
Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...
. In 1999, Steve McManaman departed his boyhood club
Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
for Real Madrid, while Sol Campbell was arguably the most controversial Bosman transfer of all-time when in 2001, he moved from Tottenham Hotspur to local fierce rivals
Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...
. In 2011, playmaker
Andrea Pirlo Andrea Pirlo (; born 19 May 1979) is an Italian association football, football manager (association football), manager and former professional player. Considered one of the greatest Midfielder (association football)#Deep-lying playmaker, mi ...
notably completed his contract with A.C. Milan before moving to
Juventus Juventus Football Club (; from , ), commonly known as Juventus or colloquially as Juve (), is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Turin, Piedmont, who compete in Serie A, the ...
. In 2014, it was announced
Borussia Dortmund Ballspielverein Borussia 09 e. V. Dortmund, often known simply as Borussia Dortmund () or by its initialism BVB (), or just Dortmund by International fans, is a German professional sports club based in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is ...
striker
Robert Lewandowski Robert Lewandowski (; born 21 August 1988) is a Polish professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Striker (association football), striker for club FC Barcelona, Barcelona. Widely regarded as one of the greatest strikers of a ...
would leave the club for league rivals Bayern Munich in the upcoming summer when his contract expired. Another impact the case had was the rules regarding foreign players. Before the ruling was made, clubs throughout Europe were limited to the number of foreign players they could employ, and could only play a maximum of three in European competition.
FIFA The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...
noted it was "disappointed" in the ruling, while Gordon Taylor thought the decision would have a major impact and would "lead to a flood of foreign players... to the detriment of our game". The ruling ensured a team could now choose to play a team of 11 foreign players if it wanted, as was the case when Chelsea became the first team to do so in December 1999. By
2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...
, the percentage of foreign players in England and Germany had reached 57%, compared with 39% in Spain and France and 30% in Italy. The last team to field an all-English starting line-up was Aston Villa in February 1999, nine months before the first all-foreign squad fielded by a club team in a football match.


2002: Transfer window created

Although there were leagues already implementing the practice,
UEFA The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; ; ) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs football, futsal and beach soccer, beach football in Europe and the List of transcontinental countries#A ...
decided to enforce a continental
transfer window In association football, a transfer window is the period during the year in which a football club, club can add players to their squad who were previously under contract with another club. Such a Transfer (association football), transfer is comp ...
in time for the 2002–03 season. UEFA chief executive Gerhard Aigner said that part of the reason behind making the transfer window compulsory was to ensure a partial stabilisation of club squads during the season and to "stop the confusion that has followed Bosman", and, with regards to it possibly damaging smaller clubs financially, he said it did not make sense that clubs would "depend on the transfer of a single player to survive the season". From 2002 to the present day, most leagues around Europe have two windows in which players may be purchased: the end of the season to 31 August, and then for the entirety of the month of January. In England, the club chairmen felt they were "reluctantly being forced" to accept the proposal, and FIFA eventually relaxed the rules regarding out-of-contract players, which enabled them to sign a contract with a new club at any time, thus not depriving football players of income outside of the season’s transfer window.


2003: Loan laws updated

In 2003, the English
Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...
scrapped a law which forbade loans between clubs in the league. Professional Footballers' Association chairman Gordon Taylor was critical of the change, fearing the new system would "erode the sporting and competitive element of the game". In February 2004, Newcastle United allowed striker Lomana LuaLua to move on loan to fellow Premier League club
Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...
for three months for a £100,000 fee. On 29 February, LuaLua scored an 89th-minute equaliser against Newcastle in a 1–1 draw, later apologizing to Newcastle supporters. The law was again changed to block players from playing against their parent club, a move which Graham Taylor was critical of. Long-time Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger has been critical of the rule on numerous occasions. In 2012, he asked for the rules to be changed so that only players aged 21 and under can be loaned; in 2013, he said the rule lacks "integrity"; and in 2014, said the system was "not defendable" and protects the clubs who loan players out. In 2013,
Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...
clubs voted unanimously to close a "ludicrous" loophole which had allowed
Watford Watford () is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of Central London, on the banks of the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a smal ...
to loan 14 players from abroad, including ten from Udinese.


2006–2014: Third-party ownership controversy

On transfer deadline day in August 2006,
West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Stratford, London, Stratford, East London, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English f ...
pulled off what was described as a "major coup" by signing
Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...
World Cup stars Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano from Corinthians. West Ham's official press release stated Tevez and Mascherano had "been signed for an undisclosed fee and put pen to paper on permanent contracts", but that "all other aspects of the transfers will remain confidential and undisclosed". Mystery shrouded the transfer immediately with regards to who owned the rights to the players, and continued until three years later when Tevez signed for
Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...
. In March 2007, West Ham were charged over the transfers, with the Premier League claiming the club had breached two regulations, U6 and U18, which state respectively, "No person may either directly or indirectly be involved in or have any power to determine or influence the management or administration of more than one club," and, "No club shall enter into a contract which enables any other party to that contract to require the ability materially to influence its policies or the performance of its teams in league matches." West Ham escaped a points deduction, but were given a record fine of £5.5 million by the Premier League. Tevez was also cleared to carry on playing for the club, and he scored the goal on the final matchday of the season, which kept West Ham in the Premier League. Sheffield United, who were relegated from the Premier League at the end of the
season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's axial tilt, tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperat ...
, sued West Ham and eventually received a settlement of approximately £20 million. Mascherano agreed to leave West Ham to join Liverpool on loan in January 2007, but had to wait for the Premier League to ratify the transfer due to the previous controversy, and the transfer was cleared three weeks later. On 29 February 2008, Liverpool signed Mascherano on a four-year contract, with a fee of £18 million paid to agent Kia Joorabchian. After Joorabchian had paid £2 million to West Ham, Tevez departed for
Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...
at the end of the season on a two-year loan, with United paying £5 million per year. After the loan ended, Tevez transferred to United's rivals Manchester City for a reported fee of £47 million. In 2008, the Premier League banned third-party ownership in England, and in 2012, then-UEFA president Michel Platini released a statement in which plans to ban third-party ownership were revealed, stating that "the committee decided that the ownership of football players by third parties should be prohibited as a matter of principle", while then UEFA general secretary
Gianni Infantino Giovanni Vincenzo Infantino (); (born 23 March 1970) is a Swiss-Italian Association football, football Administrator (business), administrator and the president of the FIFA, Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) since 26 Febr ...
said, "Third-party ownership of players bears many threats and there are many issues linked with the integrity of the competition and it is really time to regulate that and to have a stance on that." In 2014, Platini again called for the practice to end: "If FIFA fails to act, we will address this issue in our own competitions in Europe. The UEFA Executive Committee has already adopted a position on this issue in principle, and we will see this through," also adding it is a "danger to our sport" and "threatens the integrity of our competitions, damages football's image, poses a long-term threat to clubs' finances and even raises questions about human dignity". He was backed by FIFPro, the worldwide representative organisation for 65,000 professional
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
players, who stated the rights of the players were "under attack". In September 2014, it was announced by then-FIFA president
Sepp Blatter Joseph Sepp Blatter (born Josef Blatter; 10 March 1936) is a Swiss former association football, football administrator who served as the list of Presidents of FIFA, eighth president of FIFA from 1998 to 2015. He has been banned from participatin ...
that third-party ownership was to be banned completely following an indeterminate transitional period.


2006: Webster ruling

In April 2006, Heart of Midlothian player Andy Webster was placed on the transfer list by the club after Webster's agent attempted to engineer a move to Rangers. In late June, Romanov confirmed that Webster, as well as teammate Rudi Skácel, were in talks to agree a move to
Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...
. Days later, Romanov reported the pair to FIFA after the players failed to turn up at the airport to fly to Austria for pre-season training. Later in the month, Webster invoked a new ruling in the FIFA laws which allowed players to free themselves from their contract and join a club in another country, providing they were in the third year of a four-year contract and gave his current club due notice, and was set to sign for
Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic Football Club is a professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 1932, they have p ...
. In September, the transfer was finally ratified by FIFA. despite a late attempt by Hearts to re-sign Webster. However, after playing just five matches for Wigan, he moved to Rangers on loan in January 2007 and was given permission to play following a complaint by Hearts. In May 2007, the tribunal to decide the compensation due to Hearts took place, with Hearts seeking up to £5 million, but were eventually rewarded just £625,000. Scottish Professional Footballers' Association Fraser Wishart described the ruling as a "landmark". In January 2008, after an appeal, the compensation fee was reduced to £150,000 by the
Court of Arbitration for Sport The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS; , TAS) is an international body established in 1984 to settle disputes related to sport through arbitration. Its headquarters are in Lausanne, Switzerland, and its courts are located in New York City, Sy ...
(CAS). In 2007, Matuzalém invoked the same clause as Webster to break out of his contract with Shakhtar Donetsk, signing for
Real Zaragoza Real Zaragoza, S.A.D. (), commonly referred to as Zaragoza, is a football club based in Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain, that currently competes in the Segunda División, the second tier of the Spanish football league system, Spanish league system. Zarag ...
. Matuzalém was found to be in breach of contract, and he and Zaragoza were ordered to pay £11 million in compensation to Shakhtar.


2013: Transfer of Neymar from Santos to Barcelona

In August 2010, Brazilian team Santos' 18-year-old homegrown striker
Neymar Neymar da Silva Santos Júnior (; born 5 February 1992), also known as Neymar Júnior or simply Neymar, is a Brazilian professional Association football, footballer who plays as a left winger, attacking midfielder or Forward (association foo ...
was the subject of a bid in the region of £25 million from English team Chelsea, before he signed a new five-year contract. In June 2011, Neymar was again the subject of a high-profile transfer bids: Chelsea and Real Madrid were both reported as preparing offers of €45 million, before Neymar eventually turned them down to sign another new contract with Santos. In December 2011, ahead of the 2011 FIFA Club World Cup Final, it was reported that Barcelona had paid Santos a €10 million instalment for the guaranteed future transfer of Neymar at any point until 2014. A similar figure of €14 million was reported in March by Spanish radio station Cadena SER, which also reported a total transfer fee of €58 million had already been agreed between the two clubs. Neymar's father was quoted as saying Barcelona was a "great option" for his son. A year later, his father again spoke of a possible transfer for his son, saying he would leave Santos after the
2014 FIFA World Cup The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for list of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil fr ...
, taking place in Brazil, and that Barcelona was the "best path". The manager of the Brazil national team at the time,
Mano Menezes Luiz Antônio Venker Menezes (born 11 June 1962), known as Mano Menezes, is a Brazilian professional football Coach (sport), coach, currently the head coach of Grêmio FBPA, Grêmio. Menezes managed the Brazil national football team, Brazil na ...
, thought a move to Europe before the World Cup would be the best way for Neymar to develop as a player ahead of the tournament, while Neymar himself said, "I'm saying once and for all that I'm not leaving Santos right now." On 25 May 2013, Barcelona announced they had agreed a deal with Santos to sign Neymar, who himself released a statement shortly afterwards, saying, "I am not going to wait until Monday. My family and friends now know my decision. On Monday I will sign with Barcelona." The transfer was confirmed on 3 June, with Neymar signing a five-year contract with Barcelona for a fee reported as £48.6 million, a fee later confirmed by Barcelona vice-president Josep Maria Bartomeu. Shortly after the transfer was confirmed, DIS Esporte executive director Roberto Moreno revealed that DIS had not been paid a proportionate amount that equalled their 40% stake in the player; the investors of DIS had been paid only €9.7 million, which Moreno said meant the transfer fee Santos received was just €17 million. Moreno threatened legal action to those privy to the inside knowledge of the transfer deal, saying, "I am going to wait one more week and then I will open a case in court to get access to the information." The legal action was pursued, forcing Santos to produce a document as evidence in which they claimed, "As Santos FC well knows, the total transfer fee for all the federative and economic rights of Neymar Jr was established at €17.1M as stated in the transfer contract signed by both clubs," and they denied any wrongdoing with regards to payments to third parties, stating, "Such amounts... will be shared among Santos FC, TEISA and DIS in the amounts contractually agreed between these entities." Barcelona also paid Santos a fee of €7.9 million for "preferential rights" for three other Santos players, which Bartomeu claimed was not part of the transfer fee. In December, Barcelona club member Jordi Cases took the case to court in an attempt to prove "misappropriation of funds", claiming the total fee Barcelona paid was actually €74 million. In January, Barcelona released a statement in which they denied any wrongdoing, citing they had disclosed the €40 million payment to Neymar's parents from the beginning. On 22 January, it was announced that judge Pablo Ruz would gather information as part of a lawsuit against Barcelona president
Sandro Rosell Alexandre "Sandro" Rosell i Feliu (; born 6 March 1964) is a Spanish businessman. He earned an MBA degree from ESADE. Rosell ran as senior adviser of Joan Laporta during the 2003 Barcelona elections and was the vice-president of sports until J ...
. Rosell resigned from his position as president the next day, and a day later, the details of the transfer were revealed by Barcelona; the transfer had in fact cost them a total of €57.1 million (£48.6M), with Neymar's parents confirmed to have received a €40 million sum. On 20 February, Barcelona and Bartomeu were charged with tax fraud, and paid a "voluntary" amount of €13.6 million in the same week in an attempt to save the image of the club. Barcelona continued to defend their actions, releasing a statement stating that the club's "dealings with respect to this operation, and in light of all information available, was at all times in line with the relevant legal legislation", while Neymar defended his father's rights to the money he received as part of the deal. Bartomeu, who had been appointed club president following Rosell's resignation, reiterated the belief of himself and the club that the deal was fair and praised the transparency of the club to reveal all the details. The tax charges which had been brought against Bartomeu were dropped in September.


2013: FIFPro legal challenge

In 2013, FIFPro launched a legal challenge against the transfer system. FIFPro president Phillipe Piat said that "the transfer system fails 99% of players around the world, it fails football as an industry and it fails the world's most beloved game". According to FIFPro's European president Bobby Barnes, 28% of the money from a transfer fee is paid to agents, and that many players are not paid on time or at all. He claims this leads to these players being "vulnerable targets of crime syndicates, who instigate match-fixing and threaten the very existence of credible football competitions". Writing for the
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
, Matt Slater said that "professional footballers do not enjoy the same freedoms that almost every other EU worker does", and that "players look at US sport, and wonder why their career prospects are still constrained by transfer fees and compensation costs". Barnes argues that "the system encourages speculative, unsustainable, immoral and illegal investment models like third-party ownership of players". In 2017, FIFPro agreed to drop the legal challenge after they came to an understanding with FIFA, signing a six-year agreement to improve governance of transfers and conduct a review of the current system. Under the new terms, players who are unpaid by their parent club, mistreated or subject to abusive behaviour, are free to break their contract and leave.


2014: Co-ownership ends

In May 2014, the
Italian Football Federation The Italian Football Federation (, ; FIGC ), known colloquially as (), is the governing body of football in Italy. It is based in Rome and Centro Tecnico Federale di Coverciano, the technical department is in Coverciano, Florence. It manages a ...
(FIGC) announced it would be ending co-ownership of players to bring
Serie A The Serie A (), officially known as Serie A Enilive in Italy and Serie A Made in Italy abroad for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Italy and the highest tier of the Italian football league system. Establish ...
in line with the other European leagues.


Medical examination

Players will commonly undergo a medical examination and/or physical fitness test before a transfer can be completed. Occasionally, previously unknown medical problems will be detected, potentially jeopardizing the transfer or the size of the fee. Rarely, a player will still be signed by the interested club even if he fails a medical, as happened when
Dominic Matteo Dominic Matteo (born 28 April 1974) is a Scottish former professional footballer who played as a defender and midfielder in a 17-year professional career from 1992 to 2009. He made a total of 366 league and cup appearances, of which 276 were ...
failed a medical ahead of his move from Liverpool to Leeds United, who spent £4.75 million on Matteo. According to footballer Shaun Derry, his first medical was as basic as him bending over to touch his toes to check the stability in his knees, but, as the knowledge of
sports science Sports science is a discipline that studies how the healthy human body works during exercise, and how sports and physical activity promote health and performance from cellular to whole body perspectives. The study of sports science traditionally i ...
has evolved, the medical now involves
MRI Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a medical imaging technique used in radiology to generate pictures of the anatomy and the physiological processes inside the body. MRI scanners use strong magnetic fields, magnetic field gradients, and rad ...
scans, and, according to former
Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is a professional association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Founde ...
physiotherapist Gary Fleming, ECGs are also performed to check for any problems with the heart. The person performing the medical will check all the major joints, ligaments and the player's sight. A player can fail a medical simply by being unfit, as was the case when
Inter Milan Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football ...
tried to sign John Carew.


Failed medicals

One of the earliest, and most high profile, example of a transfer being cancelled due to medical issues in the UK was in November 1971 when Asa Hartford's transfer to Leeds United from West Bromwich Albion collapsed. Amidst a high level of publicity, the two clubs had agreed a fee of £177,000, a then record for Leeds United; but a medical examination found Hartford had a pin-sized hole in his heart, a slight defect he had been born with but had never impacted the progression of his career. On the advice of their medical staff, Leeds United cancelled the transfer. Despite this, Hartford went on to have a long successful playing career, including appearing for
Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
in the
1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd ...
and 1982 World Cups, with his minor heart defect never causing an issue. In the summer of 2000,
Ruud van Nistelrooy Rutgerus Johannes Martinus van Nistelrooij (; born 1 July 1976), commonly known as Ruud van Nistelrooy (), is a Dutch professional Association football, football manager and former player who is the current manager of EFL Championship club Leic ...
looked set to complete a club record £18.5 million transfer to Manchester United from PSV. Van Nistelrooy was to be unveiled at a press conference four days later, but instead this was used to announce the transfer had been postponed over concerns about his fitness; he had not played for a month due to problems with his knee. The transfer was then cancelled after PSV would not agree to further medical tests, and the next day, he ruptured his
anterior cruciate ligament The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of a pair of cruciate ligaments (the other being the posterior cruciate ligament) in the human knee. The two ligaments are called "cruciform" ligaments, as they are arranged in a crossed formation. In ...
(ACL) in his knee during a training session, leaving him injured for a year. One year later, Van Nistelrooy signed a five-year contract after passing his medical. Throughout 2000,
Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * W ...
striker John Hartson's proposed multimillion-pound moves to Tottenham Hotspur, Rangers and Charlton Athletic all fell through after he failed medicals at each club. In February 2001, Hartson finally transferred to Coventry City. In July 2003, Gabriel Milito's transfer to Real Madrid from Independiente was cancelled after the medical examination by the Spanish club. Real Madrid doctors said Milito's knees would suffer severe injuries in the incoming years. Milito then signed with Real Zaragoza, becoming one of the most successful defenders in
La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...
. In the incoming season, Zaragoza went to win the
Copa del Rey The , commonly known as , or (in English) the Spanish Cup or King's Cup, and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–1936) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–1976), is an annual knockout football competition in Spanis ...
final against Real Madrid. In 2007, he joined Real Madrid's rivals, Barcelona, but at the end of his first season he suffered a knee injury that ruled him out for two years. In 2008,
Lilian Thuram Ruddy Lilian Thuram-Ulien (; born 1 January 1972) is a French author, Philanthropy, philanthropist and former professional association football, footballer who played as a Defender (association football), defender. Widely regarded as one of the g ...
agreed to sign for
Paris Saint-Germain Paris Saint-Germain Football Club, commonly referred to as Paris Saint-Germain () or simply PSG, is a French professional Association football, football club based in Paris. They compete in Ligue 1, the French football league system, top d ...
on a free transfer from Barcelona. During his medical, it was discovered he had a severe heart defect which had also ended his brother's life, forcing Thuram to retire. In 2009, Milan were set to sign Aly Cissokho from
Porto Porto (), also known in English language, English as Oporto, is the List of cities in Portugal, second largest city in Portugal, after Lisbon. It is the capital of the Porto District and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto c ...
when a medical revealed he had a dental problem which could cause deterioration in posture and potential muscle problems, prompting Milan to cancel the transfer. Cissokho eventually transferred to
Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...
one month later. On transfer deadline in January 2013, Nottingham Forest were attempting to sign George Boyd from Peterborough United when it collapsed due to an inconclusive eye test. Boyd later signed for Hull City in February, and subsequently scored against Forest in a fixture in March and mocked them with a celebration whereby he used his fingers to make fake glasses. A permanent transfer was arranged in May.


Highest fees

The first player to ever be transferred for a fee of over £100 was Scottish striker Willie Groves when he made the switch from West Bromwich Albion to Aston Villa in 1893, eight years after the legalisation of professionalism in the sport. It took just 12 years for the figure to become £1,000, when
Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...
striker
Alf Common Alfred Common (25 May 1880 in Millfield, Tyne and Wear, Millfield (Sunderland) – 3 April 1946 in Darlington) was an English footballer who played at inside forward or Forward (association football)#Centre-forward, centre forward. He is most fa ...
moved to
Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ), colloquially known as Boro, is a port town in the Borough of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. Lying to the south of the River Tees, Middlesbrough forms part of the Teesside Built up area, built-up area and the Tees Va ...
. It was not until
1928 Events January * January – British bacteriologist Frederick Griffith reports the results of Griffith's experiment, indirectly demonstrating that DNA is the genetic material. * January 1 – Eastern Bloc emigration and defection: Boris B ...
that the first five-figure transfer took place. David Jack of
Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club ( ) is a professional association football, football club based in Horwich, Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the Englis ...
was the subject of interest from Arsenal, and in order to negotiate the fee down, Arsenal manager Herbert Chapman got the Bolton representatives drunk. Arsenal paid £10,890 after Bolton had asked for £13,000, which was double the previous record made when Sunderland signed
Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2021 population of 78,266. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River B ...
's Bob Kelly a fee of for £6,500. The first player from outside
Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...
to break the record was Bernabé Ferreyra, a player known as "La Fiera" for his powerful shot. His
1932 Events January * January 4 – The British authorities in India arrest and intern Mahatma Gandhi and Vallabhbhai Patel. * January 9 – Sakuradamon Incident (1932), Sakuradamon Incident: Korean nationalist Lee Bong-chang fails in his effort ...
transfer from Tigre to River Plate cost £23,000, and the record would last for 17 years (the longest the record has lasted) until it was broken by Manchester United's sale of Johnny Morris to Derby County for £24,000 in March 1949. The record was broken seven further times between 1949 and 1961, when
Luis Suárez Luis Alberto Suárez Díaz (; born 24 January 1987) is a Uruguayan professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Striker (association football), striker for Major League Soccer club Inter Miami CF, Inter Miami. Known for his go ...
was sold by Barcelona to Inter Milan for £152,000, becoming the first ever player sold for more than £100,000. In
1968 Events January–February * January 1968, January – The I'm Backing Britain, I'm Backing Britain campaign starts spontaneously. * January 5 – Prague Spring: Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Cze ...
, Pietro Anastasi became the first £500,000 player when Juventus purchased him from
Varese Varese ( , ; or ; ; ; archaic ) is a city and ''comune'' in north-western Lombardy, northern Italy, north-west of Milan. The population of Varese in 2018 was 80,559. It is the capital of the Province of Varese. The hinterland or exurban part ...
, which was followed seven years later with Giuseppe Savoldi becoming the first million pound player when he transferred from
Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...
to Napoli. In English football, the first £1 million fee occurred in 1979, when
Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is a professional association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Founde ...
signed striker Trevor Francis from
Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. The team compete in the ...
. Later in the same year, the English record fee was broken twice, with fees of close to £1.5 million being paid by Manchester City to
Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club ( ), commonly referred to as Wolves, is a professional association football, football club based in Wolverhampton, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league s ...
for Steve Daley, and by Wolverhampton Wanderers to Aston Villa for Andy Gray. This was during a time when transfer fees were rapidly growing in English football, and the £1.5 million mark was finally reached in 1981 when Manchester United signed Bryan Robson from West Bromwich Albion. However, a change in transfer regulations around this time meant that all fees had to be paid in full within 12 months of the transfer being completed, and at least half of the fee had to be paid when the transfer was first finalised. Consequently, Robson's record fee remained intact for six years, when Liverpool signed Peter Beardsley from Newcastle United for £1.9 million. However, fees well in excess of £2 million had already been paid to English clubs by Barcelona, who had signed
Mark Hughes Leslie Mark Hughes (born 1 November 1963) is a Welsh association football, football coach and former player who is the head coach of club Carlisle United F.C., Carlisle United. During his playing career he usually operated as a Forward (asso ...
from Manchester United and
Gary Lineker Gary Winston Lineker ( ; born 30 November 1960) is an English Sports broadcasting, sports broadcaster and former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Striker (association football), striker. Lineker is the only player t ...
from Everton in 1986. At this time, the highest transfer fees were mostly paid by Italian and Spanish clubs. Juventus paid Liverpool more than £3 million for Ian Rush. The first £2 million fee paid by an English club came in the summer of 1988, when Tottenham Hotspur signed Paul Gascoigne from Newcastle United. Within weeks of Gascoigne's transfer, the national record was broken again when Tony Cottee moved from
West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Stratford, London, Stratford, East London, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English f ...
to Everton for £2.2 million, and again shortly afterwards when Ian Rush returned to Liverpool from Juventus for £2.8 million. In the space of two months in the summer of 1992 in association football, 1992, three transfers broke the record, all by Italian clubs: Jean-Pierre Papin transferred from Olympique de Marseille, Marseille to Milan, becoming the world's first ever £10 million player. Almost immediately, rivals Juventus topped that with the signing of Gianluca Vialli for a fee of £12 million from U.C. Sampdoria, Sampdoria. Milan then completed the signing of Gianluigi Lentini for a fee of £13 million, which stood as the record for three years. In contrast, the English record fee that year was set at £3.6 million Alan Shearer moved to Blackburn Rovers F.C., Blackburn Rovers from
Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...
, a decade after the world's first £3 million transfer. Lentini's transfer remained intact the world record fee for the next four years, although the national record was broken more than once in many countries including England. Shearer's £3.6million record fee was narrowly eclipsed 12 months later when Manchester United signed Roy Keane from Nottingham Forest for £3.75 million. In 1994, Blackburn Rovers paid a record £5 million for Chris Sutton from Norwich City F.C., Norwich City, a decade after the world's first £5 million transfer. Then, in 1995, the national record fee was broken three times in six months – first when Andy Cole joined Manchester United from Newcastle United for £7 million, then with Arsenal's £7.5 million move for Dutch striker Dennis Bergkamp from Inter Milan, and finally with Liverpool's £8.5 million move for Nottingham Forest's Stan Collymore. The 1996 in association football, 1996 transfer of Shearer from Blackburn Rovers to Newcastle United, for a fee of £15 million, kickstarted a year-by-year succession of global record breaking transfers, as well as being the first time in decades that an English club had broken the world record for a transfer fee. It also reflected the rapid rise in English transfer fees since the creation of the
Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...
in 1992. Five years earlier, a year before the new league's creation, the national record fee had stood at £2.9 million. Even Collymore's transfer 12 months before Shearer's was little more than half of the money paid for the latest record-breaking transfer. Ronaldo (Brazilian footballer), Ronaldo moved 1997 in association football, the following year to Inter Milan from Barcelona for a fee of £17 million, which was followed in 1998 in association football, 1998 by the shock transfer of his fellow countryman Denílson de Oliveira Araújo, Denílson from São Paulo FC, São Paulo of Brazil to Real Betis of Spain for a fee of approximately £21 million. In 1999 in association football, 1999 and 2000 in association football, 2000, Italian clubs returned to their record-breaking ways, with Christian Vieri transferring from S.S. Lazio, Lazio to Inter for £28 million, while Hernán Crespo's transfer from Parma Calcio 1913, Parma to Lazio ensured he became the first player to cost more than £30 million. The transfer of Vieri led to the suicide of a Lazio fan, who wrote in his suicide note, "All that money for a footballer, but money is not everything in life," while the Crespo transfer prompted the
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
to ask, "[H]as the world gone mad?" Although Shearer's status as the world's most expensive footballer would only last for one year, he remained unmatched as the most expensive footballer in England for four years, when Chelsea signed the Dutch striker Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink for £15 million. Later that year, Shearer's record was finally eclipsed when Leeds United paid £18 million for West Ham United's Rio Ferdinand. In the summer of 2001, the English record was broken twice in the space of a few weeks, both times by Manchester United, who first signed Dutch striker Ruud van Nistelrooy for £19 million, and then signed Argentine midfielder Juan Sebastián Verón for £28.1 million. A year later, they broke the English record fee again by signing Rio Ferdinand from Leeds United for a fee in the region of £29 million, 11 years after Liverpool had paid a mere tenth of that figure to set an English record transfer fee when they signed Dean Saunders. It took two weeks for the record to be broken when Luís Figo made a controversial £37 million move from Barcelona to fierce rivals Real Madrid. From that time through the 2015–16 season, Real Madrid held the record, with the next players to subsequently break the record being Zinedine Zidane in 2001 in association football, 2001 when he signed for £46 million from Juventus, Kaká from Milan for just under £60 million in 2009 in association football, 2009, and £80 million transfer of Cristiano Ronaldo from Manchester United in the same year, lastly being Gareth Bale in 2013 in association football, 2013, who became the first player to cost €100 million when he transferred from Tottenham Hotspur. Manchester United claimed the record in 2016 in association football, 2016 when they spent €105 million for Paul Pogba, who returned to the club after four seasons at Juventus. This record was broken in 2017 in association football, 2017 when Paris Saint-Germain spent €222 million to sign Neymar from Barcelona. There have been occasions when a world-record bid has been made but the transfer was never completed. In 2003 in association football, 2003, shortly after Roman Abramovich had taken over Chelsea, the club made a bid of £71.4 million (€101.5M) for Real Madrid's Raúl (footballer), Raúl, which was rejected, and in 2009, shortly having been taken over by Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Manchester City made a bid of £100 million (€111M) for Milan's Kaká. The bid was accepted, but after deliberating over the move for a week, Kaká turned down the transfer despite being offered weekly wages of £500,000. The sharp rise in transfer fees since the 1990s, and in particular into the third millennium, has been attributed primarily to a large rise in television rights fees and sponsorship. For example, in 2013, new broadcaster BT Sport announced they had agreed to pay £897 million over a three-year period to gain exclusive broadcast rights to the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. Transfer fees are not always officially confirmed by the transacting clubs, and figures published by unofficial sources may or may not take into account various fees such as those paid to Sports agent, agents or a Third-party ownership in association football, third party, performance-related elements of the fee, and the notional value of any players included in part exchange. This leads to different figures being given by different sources. Performance-related clauses have become more common in recent years, meaning that it is harder to produce definitive lists of the largest transfer fees than was the case in the past. For example, the 2004 in association football, 2004 transfer of Wayne Rooney from Everton to Manchester United cost an initial fee of £20 million that rose to £27 million due to the number of appearances he made and the number of trophies he won with the club. The following tables show the highest transfer fees ever paid in euro for players and Manager (association football), managers. The first features the top 20 most expensive transfers involving players, and contains eight transfers which broke the World football transfer record, world transfer record: those of Neymar in 2017, Paul Pogba, Gareth Bale, Cristiano Ronaldo, Zinedine Zidane, Luís Figo and Hernán Crespo all broke the record. The second list shows the top 20 most expensive transfers involving managers. When a manager moves from one club to another, it usually involves a small figure of compensation being paid, and the figure is rarely released publicly. Because of this, there have only been 20 managers who have ever cost more than £1 million in compensation, as detailed in the table.


Players

Due to fluctuations in exchange rates lists of the most expensive transfers vary depending on the currency used. Most high-priced transfers take place between clubs in the Eurozone and/or the United Kingdom. Fees are often not officially announced, and figures reported by the media may not necessarily be accurate. *List of most expensive association football transfers *List of most expensive women's association football transfers


Managers

For football managers, the list is as follows:


Other types of transfers

As well as this type of regular transfer, which results in the player being "owned" by one club, other forms of transfer are used throughout CONMEBOL, South America and southern Europe.


Pre-contract

A pre-contract is an agreement by a player and an agreeing to take his registration at a later date, and became more well known after the Bosman ruling in 1995. A club may sign a pre-contract with a player while he is still with another club, by which the player agrees to move to the club at a future date, usually after his contract with his current club expires. Under the Bosman ruling, a player can sign a contract with a new club up to six months before his existing contract expires. A pre-contract agreement may be broken by the player or the club, depending on the completeness of the terms of that pre-contract and thus how close it was to being considered a valid contract under local law. In the 2014 case of ''Beijing Renhe FC v. Marcin Robak'', the player met with the Chinese club's owner, agreed on length and compensation, put those in writing, received a signed copy of both the transfer agreement from his current club and his employment contract, and then Beijing Renhe FC retracted the agreement while saying they couldn't finalize transfer terms with his departing club.
FIFA The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...
's Dispute Resolution body ruled that due to the extensive provisions and signatures on the exchanged documents, a legally binding contract had been entered into, and awarded €330,000 to Robak in compensation. On appeal, Court of Arbitration for Sport, CAS upheld the award but further ruled that because of the tentative nature or omission of some common contract provisions, it was in fact a pre-contract, subject to lower damages (while still obliging all sides to resolve final contract terms in good faith, which the acquiring club had not done). In another case, Ross County F.C., Ross County midfielder Richard Brittain signed a pre-contract with St Johnstone F.C., St Johnstone. The agreement was made in January 2013, but Brittain changed his mind three months later, citing family reasons. Ross County registered the player as their own in June, and, after discussions with the Scottish FA, St Johnstone and Ross County came to an agreement to let Brittain stay at the club, with St Johnstone cancelling the pre-contract agreement if Ross County paid compensation. Although a pre-contract agreement is usually signed to secure the future registration of a player, an agreement can be reached where the club gaining the registration can pay a fee to the other club to sign the player earlier, as was the case in January 2013, when FC Schalke 04, Schalke 04 midfielder Lewis Holtby, who had six months remaining on his contract, signed a pre-contract agreement with Tottenham Hotspur, but at the end of the month, Tottenham paid a fee of £1.5 million to bring the transfer forward.


Co-ownership

Co-ownership (football), Co-ownership is a system whereby a club will purchase 50% of the rights of a player's contract for one year and pay the wages, while also deciding which of the two clubs he will play for. At the end of the year, both clubs can choose to place a bid in an auction, where the highest bid wins. The co-ownership of Alessio Cerci by Torino F.C., Torino and ACF Fiorentina, Fiorentina proved fruitful for Cerci and Torino, who had paid €2.5 million for the first 50%, and picked up the remainder of his contract after a successful year for just €3.8 million. In May 2014, the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) announced it would be ending co-ownership of players to bring Serie A in line with every other league around Europe. The existing ownership deals could be for a year and at the end of it the player and the club must reach an agreement.


Third-party ownership

Third-party ownership in association football, Third party ownership is ownership of a player's economic rights by third-party sources, such as football agents, sports-management agencies, or other investors. The involvement of investors in the "ownership" of players is a common practice in football, particularly in Brazil and Argentina, where many clubs are insolvent or financially limited. Businessmen or other investors buy shares in the economic rights of young players and often cover the costs of their training and accommodation. In return they are entitled to a percentage of a player's future transfer fee. The transfer of Carlos Tevez to Manchester City for £47 million in 2009 was controversial for the part played by third-party owner Media Sports Investment (MSI).


Loan and other transfer-related clauses


Loan

An alternative or an intermediary of a transfer, is a Loan (sports), loan. This is where a player is allowed to temporarily play for a club other than the one he is currently contracted to. Loan deals may last from a few weeks to all season-long and can also last for a few seasons. Rarely, a loan of a player can be included in the transfer of another player; for example, the transfer of Dimitar Berbatov from Tottenham Hotspur to Manchester United for £31 million in 2008 included the loan of Fraizer Campbell in the opposite direction. Loans often require loanee clubs to pay the loaning club a loan fee for the privilege of obtaining the services of a player on loan. The loanee club, also usually has to pay for the entire salary owed to the player, during the duration of the loan. However, in both instances of high-profile loans of Alexis Sánchez, Alexis Sanchez (from
Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...
to
Inter Milan Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football ...
in 2019) and Gareth Bale (from Real Madrid CF, Real Madrid to Tottenham Hotspur F.C., Tottenham in 2020), the loaning clubs would continue to pay a sizeable percentage of the high salaries owed during the loan, in order to successfully complete the loan out of an underperforming player with high salaries, in search for more playing time. Loans can also be used to facilitate a permanent transfer that will only occur in the following year’s summer transfer window, often termed ''Loan with Obligation to Buy''. This is often conducted in order to spread out the balance of payments of the purchasing club over an extra year, in order to comply with UEFA Financial Fair Play Regulations, UEFA Financial Fair Play regulations. Loans can also be used in conjunction with a permanent transfer of the same player within the same transfer window; the purchasing club (who bought the contractual playing rights of a footballer) can subsequently loan the player back to the selling club or a third club. This is to ensure both the transfer of playing rights ownership (to the purchasing club) and the pursuit of obtaining more experience and matchplay elsewhere (away from the congested squad depth of the purchasing club).


Buy-back clause

A transfer may also include a buy-back clause, whereby the selling club attaches an exercisable option to buy-back the player at a predetermined financial amount (which is usually higher than the initial purchase price of the buying club), at a predetermined later date (usually two years after the completed sale). If the option is not exercised by a certain date, the option expires. This is usually conducted by elite clubs who had earlier bought talented young players but would prefer the young players to improve their abilities and become more experienced. For the purchasing club, this would also guarantee the player’s services for a predetermined period (of at least 2 years). This differs from a standing loan, as player ownership changes to the purchasing club along with a transfer fee being sent to the selling club, which enhances the selling club’s ability to adapt to the UEFA Financial Fair Play regulations. Often, the buy-back clause is included with another right of first refusal clause, whereby if any third club offers to purchase a player from his current club (second club); the former club of the player (first club) which had previously included the buy-back clause, is able to match any financial offer (made by any third club) to purchase the player.


Buyout clause

A buyout clause refers to a clause in a football player’s
contract A contract is an agreement that specifies certain legally enforceable rights and obligations pertaining to two or more parties. A contract typically involves consent to transfer of goods, services, money, or promise to transfer any of thos ...
that requires a willing club which intends to purchase the playing rights of the football player under contract with his current club, to pay a stipulated amount (which is usually substantially high) as stated within the clause, to the club that still owns the contractual playing rights of the player. The buyout clause is only valid during the stipulated duration of the clause, and the current club may always choose to sell at a lower price and before the expiry of the clause, if it chooses to do so and agrees an early transfer with another club.


Solidarity contribution

Under FIFA rules, if a professional football player transfers to another club during the course of a contract, 5% of any transfer fee, not including training compensation paid to his former club, shall be deducted from the total amount of this transfer fee and distributed by the new club as a solidarity contribution to the club(s) involved in his training and education over the years. This solidarity contribution reflects the number of years he was registered with the relevant club(s) between the seasons of his 12th and 23rd birthdays, as follows: As of July 2015, there is an ongoing controversy between several youth soccer clubs and the United States Soccer Federation (U.S. Soccer) over this issue. When Major League Soccer's Seattle Sounders FC sold the rights to DeAndre Yedlin to Tottenham Hotspur for US$4 million, a Seattle metropolitan area, Seattle-area youth club for which Yedlin had played, Crossfire Premier, sought its share of solidarity payments. While Spurs acknowledged Crossfire's claim, MLS and U.S. Soccer intercepted the funds before they could be sent to Crossfire, claiming that the sealed ruling in Fraser v. Major League Soccer, a 1996 antitrust case gave MLS exclusive rights to all transfer fees involving league players. Crossfire has since petitioned FIFA to either force payment or allow the club to sue MLS and U.S. Soccer; several other youth clubs have since joined in Crossfire's request, including one of Clint Dempsey's previous clubs.


Examples

* Stephen Appiah: solidarity contribution was excluded from the agreed €8 million price. Fenerbahçe S.K. (football), Fenerbahçe had an obligation to pay former clubs for additional €400,000. * Vitorino Antunes: €1.5 million x 5% x (5% x 4 seasons + 10% x 4 seasons) = €45,000 to S.C. Freamunde, Freamunde from A.S. Roma, Roma * Arjen Robben: €500,000 to FC Groningen, Groningen from Bayern Munich * Robinho: €1.805 million to Santos from Manchester City


Training compensation

Training Compensation is compensation to the cost of training the players. In FIFA status: However, FIFA does not have any power to force member associations to enforce the clause, thus FIFA only has jurisdiction on international transfers for claiming compensation. Youth clubs are ranked by their sizes to receive certain amount of money, which the schedule of rate would be updated periodically, however the rates would also be affected by the new club that signs the player. Newcastle United had to pay compensation for Charles N'Zogbia even though was signed as a free agent. Disagreement over training compensation sometimes produces legal battles in order to escape the payment, which Matthias Lepiller was signed in 2006 by Fiorentina, however an appeal in the
Court of Arbitration for Sport The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS; , TAS) is an international body established in 1984 to settle disputes related to sport through arbitration. Its headquarters are in Lausanne, Switzerland, and its courts are located in New York City, Sy ...
(CAS) was rejected in 2011, five years after Lepiller left the club. Clubs also arranged special transfer agreement in order to lower the actual signing cost. For example, Attila Filkor joined a Maltese club as free agent and immediately sold to Inter Milan. As the schedule of rates between Maltese and Italian top division were different, cost was saved until Filkor's mother club sued Inter to FIFA. The FA has its own system of training compensation; for example, Chelsea were required to pay compensation to Manchester City for Daniel Sturridge. In Italy, Career Premium () were paid to mother club once the players had make his Serie A debut or Italy national under-21 football team, Italy under-21 debut, for example, Davide Moscardelli. While Preparation Premium () were paid to youth clubs when the players signed his first professional contract.


Transfer bans

One method of club punishment used by FIFA is a ban on transfers. In 2005 Italian team Roma were given a one-year transfer ban by FIFA, beginning on 1 July, when in September 2004, French centre back Philippe Mexès joined the club while still contracted with AJ Auxerre, Auxerre. On appeal to the CAS in December 2005, the ban was reduced to end after the January transfer window, but the CAS upheld the view Roma had "not only encouraged Mexès to breach of contract, break his contract with Auxerre, but actively provoked the break". In April 2009 Swiss team FC Sion, Sion were told by FIFA they could not sign any players until the 2010 off-season as punishment for signing Egyptian goalkeeper Essam El-Hadary from Egyptian team Al Ahly SC, Al Ahly in 2008 before his contract expired. In 2011, UEFA threatened to ban all Swiss Football Association, Swiss teams from European competition, ordering the Swiss Football Association to make the decision. Sion were eventually given a 36-point deduction. On 3 September 2009 Chelsea were banned from registering any new players in the January and Summer 2010 transfer windows after FIFA's dispute resolution chamber (DRC) ruled that French winger Gaël Kakuta had Breach of contract, breached his contract with RC Lens, Lens when he joined Chelsea in 2007, and that Chelsea had induced him to do so. However, the ban was quickly lifted by the CAS when Chelsea agreed to pay £793,000 in compensation and training costs. In February 2019, Chelsea were banned by FIFA from signing new player for the next two transfer windows. The FIFA's Disciplinary Committee held the club liable for breaches in regards to international transfer and registration of players under the age of 18. The Stamford outfit was charged under Article 19 in relation to 92 players, of which 29 were reportedly found guilty. In 2009 English team Portsmouth were banned from signing new players until debts owed to fellow English teams Chelsea and Arsenal were paid with regard to the transfers of Glen Johnson (English footballer), Glen Johnson in 2007 and Lassana Diarra in 2008. The ban was lifted three months later by the Premier League. In February 2012 English team Port Vale F.C., Port Vale received a transfer embargo due to an unpaid bill, which meant that the signing of ex-Vale player Chris Birchall could not be completed. Less than two weeks later, Vale entered administration. In November 2012, upon the completion of the purchase of the club by Paul Wildes, Vale exited administration and the embargo was lifted. Soon after, Vale eventually completed the signing of Birchall, who had been playing with Major League Soccer's Columbus Crew. In 2012 Scottish team Rangers were given a 12-month registration ban by the Scottish Football Association for breaching rule 66 – bringing the game into disrepute. This meant Rangers could still transfer players into the club, but they could not be registered with the governing body. This came after Rangers entered administration. A Court of Session judge had ruled that the Scottish Football Association (SFA) acted beyond its powers in imposing the year-long transfer ban on Rangers, but Rangers accepted the ban as a condition of gaining membership to the Scottish Football Association. Also in 2012, fellow Scottish team Hearts received a two-month ban for failing to pay the wages of six first-team players and manager John McGlynn (Scottish footballer), McGlynn on time. In 2013 they received an eight-month ban for entering administration, meaning new players would not be able to registered with the club until February 2014. In December 2012 English team Bury F.C., Bury received a transfer ban after the club took out a short-term loan with the Professional Footballers' Association (PFA). The ban was lifted in January 2013 after they repaid the loan, but in February they received a second embargo after receiving another loan from the PFA. This embargo lasted until May 2013, when the club were taken over by Stewart Day and the loans were repaid, at which point the club had been relegated to EFL League Two, League Two and been forced to release 16 players. In 2013 English team
Watford Watford () is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of Central London, on the banks of the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a smal ...
received a five-month transfer ban for breaching football rules during the period from September 2011 until former owner Laurence Bassini sold the club to Giampaolo Pozzo in June 2012. Watford and Bassini were found guilty of failing to inform the football authorities about financial agreements set up with a company called LNOC, in particular their role in the transfer of Danny Graham (footballer), Danny Graham to Swansea City A.F.C., Swansea City. During the embargo period Watford were still able to register players with prior permission from league officials. In 2013 French team FC Nantes, Nantes received a ban lasting two transfer windows after breaking rules over the 2012 signing of striker Ismaël Bangoura from Emirati club Al Nasr SC (Dubai), Al Nasr. It was ruled that Nantes had persuaded Bangoura to break his contract with the UAE team, and were fined €4.5 million by FIFA, to be paid to Al Nasr. After an initial reprieve, the ban was upheld. In April 2014 Spanish club Barcelona received a transfer ban for two consecutive windows starting June 2014 and a fine of £305,000 for breaches relating to the international transfer and registration of players under the age of 18, while the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) received a fine of £340,000 and told to "regularise its regulatory framework and existing system concerning the international transfer of minors in football". FIFA's regulations dictate that international transfers regarding minors are only accepted in three scenarios: (1) the player's parents have moved to another country for non-related reasons; (2) the move takes place within the European Union if the player is aged between 16 and 18; or (3) the player's home is less than 50 km from the national border being crossed. However the ban was temporarily lifted until the end of the transfer window, giving the club the ability to purchase players in the summer transfer window of 2014, during which they were able to complete the purchases of Marc-André ter Stegen, Claudio Bravo, Luis Suárez, Jérémy Mathieu and Thomas Vermaelen. The appeal was rejected on 20 August. The ban was said to have "shattered" Barcelona's image. Sporting director Andoni Zubizarreta was sacked in January 2015 for the part he played. In December 2014 English teams Blackburn Rovers, Leeds United and Nottingham Forest were given a transfer ban of one transfer window for breaking league-implemented financial fair play regulations; the three clubs exceeded deviation limitations on operating loss and shareholder investment, set at £8 million. In February 2019, Chelsea were banned by FIFA from signing new players for two transfer windows. The ban was handed following breach of international transfer and registration of players under the age of 18. However, the club still reserved the right to appeal to Court of Arbitration for Sport. In December 2019, the ban was reduced by CAS ahead of January transfer window. However, the club in its statement said that FIFA's conduct was “deeply unsatisfactory".“The approach taken by FIFA to this case has been deeply unsatisfactory, not least as FIFA chose to treat Chelsea entirely differently to Manchester City F.C., Manchester City for reasons that make absolutely no sense to Chelsea,” a club's statement read.

The European Union's top court has declared some of FIFA's player transfer rules, particularly those requiring compensation when players end contracts early, as incompatible with EU free movement laws. The case, centered on former player Lassana Diarra, could prompt FIFA to revise its transfer policies, potentially giving players greater flexibility to switch clubs.


See also

* Buyout clause * Co-ownership (football) * Cup-tied * List of most expensive association football transfers * Loan (sports) * Retain and transfer system * Third-party ownership in association football * Trade (sports) * World football transfer record, progression of football transfer fee record


References


External links


Transfer regulations
of
FIFA The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...
(PDF)
The anatomy of a transfer deal
by BBC Sport {{Association football Association football terminology Association football transfers,