Question: Transfer Fees, How Much Does Player Get?

[Bruce]

I was watching some of the Euro World Cup matches and I have a question: If a player is transferred from one club to another, let's say for $10 million dollars, how much of that money goes into the players pocket?

[GazX]

I always thought it was about 10% of the fee

[Tilla]

The player does not have to get any of the transfer fee. The transfer fee is what one club pays another for the rights to the player. The buying club then has to negotiate terms with the player separate and apart from the transfer fee. The club signing the player could offer the player a signing bonus, plus his salary. The player though does not have any right to money earned by the selling club from the transfer fee.

I have heard that when one local club sold a promising young player to an team in the UK after World Cup 1998, the player demanded a part of the transfer fee. If the club did pay him a part of the fee, they were under no obligation to do so.

Agent Mosiah can correct me on this if I am wrong.

[Karl]

Who gets the transfer fee?

The player does not have to get any of the transfer fee. The transfer fee is what one club pays another for the rights to the player. The buying club then has to negotiate terms with the player separate and apart from the transfer fee. The club signing the player could offer the player a signing bonus, plus his salary. The player though does not have any right to money earned by the selling club from the transfer fee.

I have heard that when one local club sold a promising young player to an team in the UK after World Cup 1998, the player demanded a part of the transfer fee. If the club did pay him a part of the fee, they were under no obligation to do so.

Agent Mosiah can correct me on this if I am wrong.

You are correct!
...however I shall expand a little as I think the question has imbedded a plea on answering in an all-encompassing way possible scenarios on transfers -

I am also sure Gamma will remind deals are there to be made.

...so on considering there is always a deal to be made i.e. if the concerned parties have a meeting of the minds a deal can be made...for example there could be an arrangement in a players contract which stipulates what happens if and when he is "sold"=transferred or when a transfer is 'on the cards' a deal could be struck to 'smooth things along'...

,
...so although the transfer fees go to the "selling club" in the following dated article is an example with reference to rumour surrounding Eto'o of one 'twist' that could occur during transfer (contract) negotiations:

07/01/2009

In soccer, what is a transfer and how does it work?

In professional soccer, players are very rarely traded like they are in American sports such as baseball. They're just flat out bought and sold in a process called a transfer. So how does it work?

There are essentially three transactions that must occur to complete a transfer:

1. The two clubs must agree on a transfer fee. This is money the team acquiring the player must pay to the team letting him go. The sums can be staggering. Real Madrid, for instance, agreed to pay Manchester United $131.6 million for Cristiano Ronaldo, widely considered to be among the top three players on the planet. That's an extreme example, but transfer fees for even workman-like players can be in the millions.

2. The club acquiring the player must agree to a contract with the player. It's not like in baseball when acquiring teams simply take over the player's contract. In a soccer transfer, players are able to negotiate new contracts. In Ronaldo's case, he will be paid about $18 million a year on a six-year contract. Again, that's an extreme case.

3. In some cases there is a third transaction that must be negotiated: A deal between the player and the club he is leaving for a portion of the transfer fee. Yes, that's right. Sometimes a player wants to get his hands on a portion of the transfer fee between the clubs. Samuel Eto'o, a Barcelona player rumored to be heading to Manchester City, reportedly wants half of the transfer fee Barcelona would get from Man City. This type of deal doesn't occur in many transfers.

Players are also sometimes loaned to other teams. This is especially common for younger players who can't crack into the starting lineups on strong squads. The hope is the player will get playing time on the borrowing club when he couldn't at the lending club. (American Jozy Altidore was loaned from his top division Spanish league team to a lower division team and still couldn't crack the starting 11 at the lower club, which is no surprise after seeing him play in the recent Confederations Cup!). A team might loan a player to another team in it's own league, in a lower division or even to a team in a different country.




http://explainingsoccer.typepad.com/...s-it-work.html

Hope the above provides additional useful info.

[Tilla]

Case 3 would be the exception and not the norm. Most players are going to have a hard time getting clubs to agree to that type of scenario, especially if a club is already paying them millions. The transfer fee is a way for the selling club to recoup some of what they have expended on the player over time.

Eto'o might have been greedy and could have wanted more I would think, but I cannot recall that happening nor can I find any record of that that happened.

I hope we can cite more credible sources to support our argument than some blog. Anything on what FIFA Regulations on transfer of players suggests? I have not had a chance to check, but that would be a good place to start.

[GazX]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/6314369.stm


WHAT HAPPENS ONCE A FEE IS AGREED?
A fee can be agreed but it does not mean a move will go through. But, once it is, then the job of the agent is to agree personal terms on the player's behalf.
The agent is there to secure the best possible deal for his client and this can take a little time.
Professional and financial issues will be taken into consideration such as: whether the player is going to play, the wage and the length of the contract.
It is a bit of negotiation and compromise. The agent wants to realise a player's value to a club while the club will be looking to minimise their outlay as much as they can.
If the player is of a certain level the club will be prepared to offer him a better package than for a less valuable player.
Issues which arise in the negotiation process include:


An adjustable salary: This would see an increase in salary year-on-year and after a certain number of appearances.

A signing-on fee: This is a payment the player gets for signing for a club, although this may vary and depend from league to league. At the larger clubs you get a payment when you sign and then a fee split over a couple of years.

West Ham agreed a fee for Ashley Young but he decided to move to Aston Villa

If a number of clubs have agreed a fee for a player then he will weigh up a number of aspects.
These may include whether he is going to play more at one club than another, the package he is getting and how much he will have to uproot his family.
It often comes down to a wide range of reasons but for most players, first and foremost, it can be about how many minutes on the pitch they are going to get.

[Karl]

Case 3 would be the exception and not the norm. Most players are going to have a hard time getting clubs to agree to that type of scenario, especially if a club is already paying them millions. The transfer fee is a way for the selling club to recoup some of what they have expended on the player over time.

Eto'o might have been greedy and could have wanted more I would think, but I cannot recall that happening nor can I find any record of that that happened.

I hope we can cite more credible sources to support our argument than some blog. Anything on what FIFA Regulations on transfer of players suggests? I have not had a chance to check, but that would be a good place to start.

I think you would be surprised at the number of transfers where compromises are made on player compensation. (One example - On player's agreement to terms to be received while at new club, a condition on salary player shall receive at new club could include the former club adding to financial outlay through paying all or a portion of the player's salary or some other fee or compensation to the 'transferred' player).

Far be it from me to disagree that recouping outlay of funds do not play a part in clubs' calculations. ...but the calculations are often more complex than simple one issue transaction.

Example: Players are in a real sense property of their clubs and part of the compensation is somewhat similar to that gained from owning a home (Real Property) and using same as residence...i.e. the enjoying of the property is of itself compensation for monies spent. Clubs receive compensation for monies spent on players through use of the players' services.

[Tilla]

Karl, we can explore all type of scenarios here. And yes, aything can be agreed to where contracts are concerned.

My response was towards Gasz' response that the player receives 10% of the transfer fee. There is no such hard and fast rule and it is usually not the case. If it happens it is the exception and not the norm where the selling club is paying the player. If 5% of transactions involve the the selling cub playing the player a part of the transfer fee, that would be a lot.

Yes, you can come up with all type of situations, but you are going to find in majority of transactions involving player transfer, the selling club does not pay the player a part of the transfer fee.

[Karl]

Agreed!