Intermediaries are never popular in any market: think estate agents. Many fans think agents are leeches who take money away from clubs and out of the game. Figures released recently for Premier League clubs would seem to confirm their worst fears. More than £70m was paid out to middlemen between the beginning of October 2008 and the end of September 2009. Following their takeover by Sheikh Mansour Manchester City spent the most on agents, no less than £12,874,283 – one fifth of the total. Perhaps more surprising is that Manchester United spent a relatively modest £1,517,893.
Intermediaries are never popular in any market: think estate agents. Many fans think agents are leeches who take money away from clubs and out of the game. Figures released recently for Premier League clubs would seem to confirm their worst fears. More than £70m was paid out to middlemen between the beginning of October 2008 and the end of September 2009. Following their takeover by Sheikh Mansour Manchester City spent the most on agents, no less than £12,874,283 – one fifth of the total. Perhaps more surprising is that Manchester United spent a relatively modest £1,517,893. Burnley are bottom of the table with agents’ fees of £468,398. However, there are some doubts about the accuracy of the figures with Hull City stating that the amount paid by them was £1,820,250, about £120,000 more than the total given.
Even renegotiating contracts with existing players can be expensive as the example of Chelsea shows after a year in which they paid only one transfer fee. The bulk of their £9,562,223 fees were paid to keep their existing squad together with the likes of Didier Drogba and John Terry signing new deals. Chelsea are one of several clubs who regularly pay agents to offload players which explains several other anomalies. For West Ham United to pay out £5,227,448 to agents might seem odd given their parlous financial state, but if it saves them wages in the long run it will be money well spent. Agent fees are also generally higher in free transfers which may explain why Wigan Athletic spent £3,576,972. The system of transfer windows turns what is already a highly competitive scenario in which good sense often goes out of the window. Fifa once issued a ‘guideline’ that agents should receive 5 per cent of a transfer fee, but a club that thinks it desperately needs a player before deadline day may willingly hand over more.