An increasing number of football players have been running down their contracts and signing for free elsewhere—a sly manoeuvre that irks fanbases and enrages club boards equally. However, the ramifications that clubs are left to bear go deeper than just bitterness and resentment.
Join us as we explore what goes on behind the scenes when players run down their contracts and sign for free with another club. Here at the LV BET Sports Blog, you can find numerous posts exploring the intricacies of the sporting world.
HOW FOOTBALL CONTRACTS WORK
Contracts in the world of football are simply a branch of the vaster world of employment; as such, they work the same way as any other contract. When a club and a player develop an interest in engaging in employment, the club prepares a contract that covers the following main subjects:
- The player’s wage
- The player’s wage bonuses (if any) and how their criteria can be met
- The player’s length of service at the club
If the player and their agent aren’t satisfied with the proposed contract, the player’s agent may attempt to mediate between the two sides and bargain for better contractual terms for their player. In any case, either side can pull out of a negotiation if they deem that the other side’s ask is too demanding or unsubstantial.
Should the player be satisfied with the proposed contract, they can sign and begin their adventure with the club. This agreement would tie the player to the club for the duration specified in the contract, which means that the player cannot sign for any other club during this time.
Breaching this condition brings about severe consequences for the player. For example, Rafael Leao breached his contract with Sporting CP and was consequently handed a €16.5m fine.
WHY DON’T CERTAIN PLAYERS SIGN A NEW CONTRACT WHEN OFFERED ONE?
The duration of contracts in contemporary football verge on four to five years, with Chelsea’s surreal eight-year contracts merely being anomalies that quickly attracted the eyes of UEFA. When the final one to two years draw closer, clubs tend to revisit the player’s contractual situation and negotiate with the player’s agent for a renewal—granted that the club is satisfied with the player’s performance.
Why doesn’t a club wait for the contract to expire before proceeding with negotiations for a renewal? That would result in the club’s worst nightmare: having a player leave for free without bringing in a penny from a potential transfer fee. Once the player’s contract expires, the player is free to negotiate and sign a new contract with any club they desire—the interested club wouldn’t have to pay any transfer fee since the player would be a free agent.
Over the past few years, this approach has begun being premeditated; that is, players planning on purposely running down their contract several years before its end. There are a few reasons why some might opt for this strategy.
- The player already has a verbal agreement with another club.
- The player doesn’t see a future with the club and wants to explore their options once their contract ends.
- When the player leaves a club as a free agent, the interested clubs are more willing to pay higher salaries, signing bonuses and agent commissions since no transfer fee would have to be paid.
Although this practice is by no means illegal, it is considered unscrupulous by many passionate fans.
5 OF THE MOST FAMOUS FREE AGENTS
By running down their contracts and signing with another club for free, players effectively forfeit their clubs a transfer fee that could potentially be used to purchase their replacement. Alternatively, the funds received from a transfer could be used to settle the club’s books in light of the recent Covid pandemic, during which the clubs have recorded disastrous losses.
These are five of the most famous free agents:
5. PAUL POGBA
The French-Guinean central midfielder has run down his contract twice with the same club: Manchester United. In 2012, Pogba refused to sign a contract with the club and left for Juventus, with whom he won four Serie A titles, two Coppa Italia titles, and three Super Coppa titles.
During the height of his career, Juventus sold Pogba back to Manchester United for an astounding €105m; only for him to repeat the process and run down his contract with the Premier League giants once again. In 2022, Pogba left the club as a free agent and joined Juventus yet again.
4. DAVID ALABA
The Austrian captain was intelligently hand-picked from Austria Wien’s youth academy by Bayern Munich in 2008. After paying a measly €150k as a transfer fee, the Bavarians went on to develop Alaba into a highly effective left-back. This decision paid dividends, with Bayern winning all their domestic trophies as well as several Champions League, UEFA Super Cup and Club World Cup titles.
After a 10-year tenure at the German club, Alaba rejected Bayern Munich’s €11m-per-year bid for a contract renewal and, instead, joined Real Madrid as a free agent, where he was offered €12m per year. His market value at the time was €55m.
3. ROBERT LEWANDOWSKI
Although Bayern Munich was on the receiving end of the situation being discussed, the club is guilty of taking advantage of it with Robert Lewandowski. The Pole was a smart buy for Borussia Dortmund, which purchased his services from Polish side Lech Poznan for a lowly €4.75m fee.
It didn’t take Lewandowski much time to prove himself as a prolific goal-scorer. With several clubs knocking on his door, Lewandowski decided to run down his contract and sign with Dortmund’s rivals Bayern Munich as a free agent. His market value at the time was €50m.
2. GIANLUIGI DONNARUMMA
Having debuted with AC Milan at just 16 years old, Donnarumma was regarded as the club’s gem—a youth product who had been refined into a superb, up-and-coming shot-stopper.
After an elongated saga that seemed to have no end, Donnarumma informed his teammates of his decision to refuse a renewal and leave the Italian club. After helping AC Milan secure a Champions League spot for the first time in eight years and catapulting Italy to a Euro 2020 triumph, the goalkeeper joined PSG for free. His market value at the time was €60m.
1. LIONEL MESSI
A soap opera that claimed headlines for months on end was none other than Lionel Messi’s shock departure from his boyhood club FC Barcelona. A product of the renowned La Masia youth academy, the Argentinian star spent 20 years playing for the Catalan side before heading to PSG as a free agent. At the time, his market value was €80m.
THE REALITY ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE DEAL
Although the home club bears the brunt of a player leaving as a free agent, the new club (the one which has signed the player for free) has their own cross to bear. Here are some drawbacks that such clubs face.
- The new club will have to pay the player higher wages, given that there was no transfer fee associated with the move.
- In doing so, a sticky situation may unfold whereby other players might feel indignant about the club paying higher wages to new players.
- The agent fees will also be a hefty price to pay.
- In the future, the player might prove to be challenging to sell. With such a higher wage, fewer clubs will be interested in negotiating with the club and the player.
In most cases, these repercussions are anticipated by the buying club, but others might fall victim to their own sly whims.
HOW CAN CLUBS PREVENT THIS SITUATION FROM HAPPENING?
There’s not much clubs can do to prevent players from leaving for free. Their only option is to begin talks for contract extensions as early as possible so as to ‘lock’ in their player for a few more years.
Bumping up their salary and adding easily reachable performance bonuses can definitely help bring the deal over the line; nevertheless, if the player wants to leave without signing a contract extension, there may be no convincing them.
LV BET
Staying atop the bustling football world can be tough, but we at LV BET aim to keep you abreast of the latest happenings in this wonderful sport. Discover the worthy football markets and bet on your favourite team at LV BET.
Read up on the latest scoops of live sports and esports at the LV BET Sports Blog, where you can keep informed about the latest news and announcements in the world of sports.