Crusoe Posted January 31, 2008 Share Posted January 31, 2008 Football Transfers Are About to Change Forever Some interesting thoughts on the implications of the recent ruling on Andy Webster. He wanted to leave Hearts but was under contract. After a protracted dispute the Court of Arbitration in Sport has decided that he is only liable for the remaining value of his contract. Hearts wanted £4.6m; they'll get £150,000. The implication is this: clubs can buy players for no more than the remaining value of their contract. As the linked article suggests, that would mean that Ronaldo and Fabregas will be "worth" £12m each in 2010. So will clubs stop offering long contracts? Will transfer fees plummet? Will we see a greater revolving door of players in and out as their contracts are snapped up? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the_mighty_bosh Posted January 31, 2008 Share Posted January 31, 2008 IMO there needs to be wage capping in some form, trouble is that I don't know how it can realistically be done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigfinLatic Posted January 31, 2008 Share Posted January 31, 2008 This is actually really interesting stuff.... should change the way all transfers are conducted if all you have to do is pay thier remaining "wages"... We could sign the entire wigan squad for a tray of meat and potato pies.... tranmeres for a few knocked off TV's and whatever gubbins is in your neighbours bin, however... yeovils side could be a goer, a few pints of scrumpy and the ability to marry thier own sister.... Awesome stuff... seriously though... very interesting... think it could work the opposite though, surely players will be on really long term contracts - ie 10 years to whack the value up... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diego_Sideburns Posted January 31, 2008 Share Posted January 31, 2008 This is the most dramatic, far-reaching news item of the day Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senor_Coconut Posted January 31, 2008 Share Posted January 31, 2008 It isn't a new rule people, this has been in place for atleast three years, Webster was just the first player in the uk to use it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crusoe Posted January 31, 2008 Author Share Posted January 31, 2008 Senor C - it's not the rule that's important here, it's CAS' response to the challenge. According to another source: The Court of Arbitration for Sport yesterday issued a landmark ruling that in effect means no players can be held to their contracts for more than three years. For players who join clubs or renew their contracts after their 28th birthday that comes down to two years. And: A Fifa ruling awarded Hearts £625,000 but the Scottish club were seeking £4.6m - which they considered to be the player's market value at the time of his departure - and challenged Fifa's verdict at CAS. The court yesterday revised the compensation figure downwards to £150,000, which was the value of the remaining term of his contract when he crossed the border. Fifa's disputes-resolution chamber can multiply contract values by a factor of 1.5 in calculating compensation. But, with a player's value directly linked to his wages, the ruling is likely to cause transfer fees to plunge. "My view has always been that this is the most significant case since Bosman," said Tony Higgins of Fifpro, the European players' union. "The Webster case allows players, after a set period of time and if they so wish, to decide who their future employer will be." And: ...clubs, as well as players, can unilaterally terminate contracts under the same terms. But it is likely also to cause clubs to suffer big accounting losses, since player contracts must now depreciate over a maximum of three years - the so-called "protected period" for players under 28 - rather than over durations of up to five years as now. The CAS rejected Hearts' claim that the cost of replacing Webster should be a defining factor in the amount of compensation due. It further rejected the club's suggestion that, as in Scots law, commercial rather than basic employment values attached to football players' contracts should be primary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inspiral_Carpet Posted February 1, 2008 Share Posted February 1, 2008 Senor C - it's not the rule that's important here, it's CAS' response to the challenge. According to another source: And: And: Possibly another reason why the Club were happy to accept the offer for Trotman and have not gone daft blowing money on transfer fees paid today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheepfootredemption Posted February 1, 2008 Share Posted February 1, 2008 this will mean teams full of kids and loan players Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danoafc Posted February 1, 2008 Share Posted February 1, 2008 Football Transfers Are About to Change Forever Some interesting thoughts on the implications of the recent ruling on Andy Webster. He wanted to leave Hearts but was under contract. After a protracted dispute the Court of Arbitration in Sport has decided that he is only liable for the remaining value of his contract. Hearts wanted £4.6m; they'll get £150,000. The implication is this: clubs can buy players for no more than the remaining value of their contract. As the linked article suggests, that would mean that Ronaldo and Fabregas will be "worth" £12m each in 2010. So will clubs stop offering long contracts? Will transfer fees plummet? Will we see a greater revolving door of players in and out as their contracts are snapped up? Very, VERY worrying! Particularly for smalls clubs. Somebody posted a point on here last night about their being too much player & agent power in the modern game, and this ruling simply tips the balance further in their favour. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diego_Sideburns Posted February 1, 2008 Share Posted February 1, 2008 This news is passing by quite quietly considering the implications. Doing a Webster will kill football if not handled well. The knock on effects are quite scary really. A wealthy club will be able to get hold of a player in Trotmans case for 5 months wages plus the training compo which might be £100,000 IF LUCKY! So unless you are paying huge wages in the first place you get little back. The wage budget is limited in relation to attendances, so poorly supported clubs like ours are in a lose-lose situation. Thank God we've got TTA aiming to realise their dream, rather than cutting their losses, which will be the case with many clubs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diego_Sideburns Posted February 1, 2008 Share Posted February 1, 2008 this will mean teams full of kids and loan players Or part-time players! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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