This is an absolutely outstanding article, I came away from this having learnt something new about transfers I wouldn't have even considered before.
I never even considered that clubs' financial obligations to each other last long after a player has changed hands. I think it's remarkable that only a few clubs have actually been sanctioned for missing payments, I thought the number would have been way higher. Clearly, UEFA and FIFA safeguards are key to building trust in this system and it generally works very well.
Recent transfer records such as Elliot Anderson, Enzo Fernandez and Morgan Rogers come to mind. I wish I was in a position to be able to look through the accounts now of their ex clubs and see when these £100+ mil players might actually be paid off.
I can also totally see why clubs might go to banks and investors today to turn promised money into actual money if they desperately need to buy a player in a particular position during a transfer window. Thanks for writing, keep up the great work!
This genuinely made my day — thank you! The funny thing is, I went into the research not really understanding half of this myself. The deeper I got, the more I realized how misleading that single number on a transfer graphic can be.
And your point about Anderson, Fernández and Rogers is exactly where my head went too. Once you start thinking about transfers this way, you immediately want to see the payment schedules behind every massive deal.
Really appreciate you taking the time to read it and leave such a thoughtful comment!
This is an absolutely outstanding article, I came away from this having learnt something new about transfers I wouldn't have even considered before.
I never even considered that clubs' financial obligations to each other last long after a player has changed hands. I think it's remarkable that only a few clubs have actually been sanctioned for missing payments, I thought the number would have been way higher. Clearly, UEFA and FIFA safeguards are key to building trust in this system and it generally works very well.
Recent transfer records such as Elliot Anderson, Enzo Fernandez and Morgan Rogers come to mind. I wish I was in a position to be able to look through the accounts now of their ex clubs and see when these £100+ mil players might actually be paid off.
I can also totally see why clubs might go to banks and investors today to turn promised money into actual money if they desperately need to buy a player in a particular position during a transfer window. Thanks for writing, keep up the great work!
This genuinely made my day — thank you! The funny thing is, I went into the research not really understanding half of this myself. The deeper I got, the more I realized how misleading that single number on a transfer graphic can be.
And your point about Anderson, Fernández and Rogers is exactly where my head went too. Once you start thinking about transfers this way, you immediately want to see the payment schedules behind every massive deal.
Really appreciate you taking the time to read it and leave such a thoughtful comment!