02 Jun 2024 15:36:55
Well, well, who could of seen that coming, Kylian Mbappe has signed a contract with Real Madrid for 4 years.
Seemingly, a 150m euro signing on fee, how is the poor boy ever going to manage!
02 Jun 2024 15:43:37
Let’s save our transfer kitty and get free signings! Yeah right. Wonder if Tosin will ask for a few quid from Chelsea.
02 Jun 2024 16:14:30
Ridiculous really, but fair play to Mbappe and his team.
02 Jun 2024 16:17:26
Exactly spenno, a false economy.
I believe Tosin is at his local hardware store right now, buying a couple of wheelbarrows to shift a great wad of cash. Can't blame him though.
02 Jun 2024 17:07:39
Dangerous precedence to set by Real. Players effectively receiving the transfer fee could be a disaster for many clubs. In a sense this is the logical extension of the Bosman ruling but it's taken until now to get invoked in this way.
{Ed002's Note - not a precedent - nothing to do with Real Madrid.}
02 Jun 2024 18:18:04
I'm a little confused why Real would give him this much money to sign on.
Surely they are in the box seat, if you want to play for us, you should be paying us €150 million, we won La Liga and CL without you.
02 Jun 2024 20:49:45
Plus which other club could come close to paying him such a big fee?
Madrid had no competition.
02 Jun 2024 21:18:20
We are going to see lots more of this.
Players will run their contacts down a lot more I believe.
02 Jun 2024 23:09:44
Ken, I reckon clubs will become more aware and if player's won't sign new deals there will be a readiness to sell rather than wait and hope.
03 Jun 2024 00:24:18
Madrid are financially astute and will make a lot back from the commercial opportunities that Mbappe open to them.
Let's be honest if we could have signed Mbappe for a massive amount no one would be complaining.
Madrid are replacing their older players with top quality youngsters. They are an excellently run club
That's what Utd have to aspire to.
03 Jun 2024 00:45:21
There have been a number of high profile free transfer switches I can think of and this is the biggest. The only surprise is that there hasn't been more of it.
03 Jun 2024 09:10:11
It is a precedent Ed002 to spend that amount. Clearly that's what I was referring to. Ofc there have been signing on fees before.
{Ed002's Note - You would be surprised how many players have been persuaded to run down their contracts and recieved a significant fee. PSG also had a contract with huge bonuses in with him. Ronaldo earns more than that per season.}
03 Jun 2024 09:31:41
The system in the NBA and NFL may not be something to replicate (draft, players with almost no choice on where they get traded to etc) but how trade compensation and contract amounts is agreed regardless of contract status is better. Currently there seems to be very few controls in football over either transfer fees or signing on fees.
03 Jun 2024 13:23:52
Iwotb.
Players cannot be sold unless they agree.
03 Jun 2024 16:23:16
I am well aware of that Ken, that is when negotiation would have to come into play.
You will have to try something as otherwise the lunatics will completely take over the asylum!
03 Jun 2024 17:29:35
Security will be prioritised by some players nobody wants to find themselves with a cruttiate ligament injury and no contract I feel a lot of the real high profile ones will be rare enough due to the numbers involved, but if I was Bruno foe example I'd stay at united and leave on a free in 2 years and pick up huge money if we are not competitive.
But there are risks to that strategy and a lot of players are being advised against their best interests at times simply because its in somebody else's best interests.
03 Jun 2024 20:58:58
Well there is a lot of layers to this if you have a few years left on x per year and then the club doesn't want to sell you but offers you a new contract on x times 2 3 or 4 I can see why you take it.
Given that if a player later really wants to leave many clubs will let them although obviously for a few.
Running down your contract may seem too far away for some compared to rewards now or going now to the club or manager who they really want to be at now may be to big to resist.
I don't begrudge any player earning whatever they can or going where they want for whatever reason they want.
04 Jun 2024 11:45:22
Exactly oakbark.
I can't understand the need to comment on their earnings. They have a right to maximise their incomes and to develop their wealth.
05 Jun 2024 02:40:57
The €150m signing on fee is so high to offset the near 50% pay cut Mbappe has taken to sign for Real. There’s been plenty high signing on fees and agent fees in the past. Pretty sure Neymar’s parents got something like €50m from Barca? Think Haaland got something similar from City. Granted it’s a 1/ 3rd of what Mbappe’s got but they got pay rises on top of it.
05 Jun 2024 08:12:31
DONRED - plenty of NFL clubs still have players they are paying who stopped playing 3-5 seasons ago as their contracts are so big the clubs have to keep asking the individuals to defer well into retirement as they have to balance their books - that's no way to go.