The inevitable fall of player transfer fees
After soaring highs, are the values of player transfers bound to fall?
The transfer of Erling Haaland from Borussia Dortmund to Manchester City was the first of many transfers which marks the trend of declining player transfers. In this transfer, Erling Haaland secured a cool 553,000 GBP/week, Man City paid 52 million GBP for the transfer, which is 28 million GBP less than what Manchester United paid for Harry Maguire, and the agents involved allegedly received nearly 34 million GBP for their services.
This example, along with a few factors, are key indicators which lead to one conclusion; Transfer fees for players are going down.
#1: Better Salaries for players
The Erling Haaland transfer has kickstarted the trend where players are now ensuring better financial packages for themselves by just running down their contracts.
This ensures the club they sign for has more money to spend on salaries of players as compared to paying the transfer fees to the club the player was employed to.
Harry Kane might be one of the last players who decided to accept a transfer so that Tottenham Hotspur get some money out of his sale which can be used to invest in the team.
This trend could lead to many players waiting for the last year or 6 months of their contract to talk to other clubs if they want to initiate a transfer. Players could also use this as a tactic to get a better contract from their current club, all of which reduces the chances of clubs being paid obscene amounts for their talents.
#2: FIFA Agents Regulation
While in the previous point it was written what players could do to get a better deal, the actions are clearly driven or in many cases taken by the agents and the new FIFA Regulations might make the problem worse.
The new regulations cap an agents fees of a player’s remuneration to 3%. This means that the amount allegedly paid to the agents of Haaland will not be possible anymore. This action will compel agents to change their approach.
Agents will now be compelled to make the most out of multiple deals instead of one deal. They will ensure multiple players get paid more, which would increase their cut and that would mean more players will either be transferred at a lower fee so that they get more in the form of salaries or they will renew with clubs for better deal. This would also have a huge impact of player transfers and would push them to be lower than they were before.
#3: Financial Fair Play (FFP)
With FFP plugging all the loopholes which have been exploited by clubs, the chances of spending without ramifications is a distant reality. The FFP may not be perfect but is a major factor which has curtailed the spending of top clubs. With further efforts made to ensure FFP is a genuine limiter for the top clubs to limit their spending on players, the amounts which the clubs will pay will also see a sharp decline.
Is transfer fees going down a good thing?
A major concern which arose with the rise of transfer fees was the scenario where only the top clubs or clubs with massive external investment were the only clubs which could attract the best players. Only a select few teams from a select few leagues dominated continental football, which lead to the top teams getting better and the other teams getting worse, causing one sided league campaigns and dominant clubs looking unbeatable.
With the absence of massive player transfers, the possibility of a mid table club assembling a team to challenge the top through high quality scouting, coaching and tactical setup could be a possibility. With players being paid well and more clubs having access to top players, transfer fees going down might be a blessing in disguise and, in hindsight, could be a major factor for further success for European football.