Martin Alvito
Player Valuation: £50m
The agent structure is a mess.
Permitting stables of clients permits them to extort clubs once they get a foot in a door (give me what I want or the player will leave and I will blackball you). Paying agents a percentage of transfer fees incentivizes them to encourage players to move as frequently as they can manage.
Clearly players need representation; they're not experts on employment law or their valuation, and they need guidance with that. But as it stands, agents are free to engage in all kinds of underhanded tactics to try to maximize that valuation.
FIFA's approach is probably wrongheaded - you need to regulate and enforce the actual problems rather than just try to put a cap on agent payments per transaction and leave the problems in place. I get why the agents are upset, but they have brought this situation on themselves.
Permitting stables of clients permits them to extort clubs once they get a foot in a door (give me what I want or the player will leave and I will blackball you). Paying agents a percentage of transfer fees incentivizes them to encourage players to move as frequently as they can manage.
Clearly players need representation; they're not experts on employment law or their valuation, and they need guidance with that. But as it stands, agents are free to engage in all kinds of underhanded tactics to try to maximize that valuation.
FIFA's approach is probably wrongheaded - you need to regulate and enforce the actual problems rather than just try to put a cap on agent payments per transaction and leave the problems in place. I get why the agents are upset, but they have brought this situation on themselves.
