As a professional soccer players rise in popularity and skill, they might find that they are offered various options throughout their careers to change to another club. This is a standard part of the pro soccer world, and it’s why so many players will participate in different clubs over the years.
The business of player transferral is by no means a new concept, but it has evolved significantly over the last few decades. Here we will look at the ways in which players move from one club to another.
How Contracts Work
In order to understand how players move around different clubs, it’s important to first know about contracts. When a club reaches out to a player on a different team and offers them a spot, they will usually give them some terms and conditions that they will need to read through thoroughly, as well as a large amount of money to make the invitation that much more appealing.
When the player has decided to accept the offer and move to the new club, a contract will need to be written up. These contracts stipulate a lot of factors, including what kind of salary the player can expect, as well as the amount of time they will be with the club. Most contracts have fixed terms of up to five years, but if the player decides to move to a new club in this period, the new club will need to provide compensation for the remaining time.
Transfer Windows
Regulations set out by FIFA allow for transfers to take place officially just twice a year, which allows clubs to buy foreign players. This is known as a transfer window, and the longer of the two will take place between seasons, while the shorter transfer window happens mid-season. The timing of each can vary depending on the times set by a country’s football association. For most European countries, the transfer window in summer closes on the 31st of August.
Where The Money Goes
When we hear about A-class professional players getting offered hundreds of millions of dollars to move to a new club, it’s easy to think that all that money goes into the pocket of the player, but it’s far more complicated than that. For instance, a large portion of the money can go into the buyout clause, which usually consists of the remaining term of the contract and what it’s estimated to be worth to the club that currently has the player, with amounts of money that can only be compared to winning in real money blackjack.
Another portion of money goes to the old club itself as a part of the purchase of the player and their term for the contract. Finally, there is a stipulated amount that not only goes to the player, but also their agent, as well as any members that are part of the contract, which can sometimes be family members, such as parents. Altogether, these buyouts can be extremely expensive, especially for high-value players.
