Italian journalist Mario Sconcerti has criticised the way that more and more quality players are leaving clubs on free transfers rather than for a fee, according to a report in the Italian media today.
Whilst writing for Corriere della Sera, Mario Sconcerti explained that free transfers used to only ever be done by regular players who have been let go by their current team.
Now it seems to be that there are plenty of players leaving a club after their contract has run out, such as Lionel Messi, Gianluigi Donnarumma, Sergio Ramos and many more.
“The free transfer has always been there and concerns two-thirds of the transfers of each market. They are solutions, however, by normal players, not the best. While the novelty is that now the best move, often leaving the best teams.”
The journalist then added that the players then appear to demand extremely high signing on fees that almost act like a transfer fee in itself, so the players and agents are becoming like an independent company.
“The agents had one last extraordinary idea, the signing fee. In practice you evaluate a player without a contract as his own owner. You have to pay him a fair share of what you save by not paying the club.
“In practice, the player today must be considered as if it were a company, you must negotiate its purchase even if it is without a contract. This is the new multiplier. And the influence of the agents, the real presidents of these new individual companies, increases dramatically.”
This is relevant as they could be about to lose Marcelo Brozovic on a free transfer as his latest contract talks frustrated the club.
