Shadnan Mahmud

In the '16 -'17 season, European football did not start by then. During that time, clubs were taking part in pre-season matches in different countries of Europe. Before the start of the transfer season, a very strange buzz was heard all over Europe. And that rumor was, the French club PSG wants to include Brazilian superstar Neymar in the journey. Although many people laughed at the news, within a few days, information started coming from reliable journalists or sources about the fact that Neymar is moving to the club in Paris. By paying the 222 million Euro release clause, PSG is willing to take him to the team. This change seemed impossible to many, but in the end, Neymar was bought by PSG after breaking all records of the transfer.

After Neymar's transfer, the systemic way of how players are traded in Europe has changed massively. In today's time, including players in the team means spending a considerable amount on this. But who are the controlling panel behind this transfer? How do the two clubs reach a final solution? Have you ever wondered?

By the word 'Transfer,' we just mean a player's journey to a new club, to a new destination. And this process must be done by handing over a certain amount of money and making an agreement about everything in the contract with the player. However, if that player does not have a contract with a club or his contract has expired at the time of transfer, it is possible to buy him as a 'free agent' without money. Whether it is the football academy of Ajax or the famous La Masia of Barcelona, every footballer develops under the guidance of an academy of one or another club. No club fulfills a teenager's dream of becoming a footballer when he is young. If these kids or teenagers can show some football skills, they get a chance to be admitted to the academy. For example, we can see the hero of the 2014 World Cup final, Mario Gotze, who joined the football academy of Borussia Dortmund when he was only eight years old. But in the end, not everyone can reach the real stage of football. Because Clubs mainly focus on wonder boys. For example, Barcelona got an invaluable talent named Lionel Messi.

At the age of 8-10, joining the club means he has entered the football transfer market. But no one becomes a professional footballer before the age of 16. But even with these teenagers, the transfer market goes similarly. News of their change of team is not published. Even the amount for transfer is also relatively low. But due to social sites or other reasons, some boys become popular even at a young age. Sometimes their transfer news made headlines in local newspapers. For example, Dutch midfielder Xavi Simmons moved to PSG from Barcelona or Takefuso Kubo; he moved to Real Madrid FC at a very young age.

Suppose a teenager has just started his football career by playing in a club. But they don't get noticed as not everyone plays in a big club in Europe, and if he continues to play really well, he will quickly catch everyone's eye. There are three types of guide liners who find players from the academy of an unknown club. They are all professional people working for the club's money. They do not only find players, but the club's economic side also depends a lot on the work of those. Some are behind-the-scenes actors, so their work and influences don't come to the fore that way.

The first of this category- is the Scouts. They are mainly involved with different clubs. Whether it's a storm or rain, day or night, they spend most of their lives touring different football stadiums and reviewing players' performances. In Europe or America, they appear in various matches and try to understand the player's playing skills and talent by keeping an eye on the specific player. The second is another category of the official who does the work of the reviewer. These are officers who work for a direct salary in the club. They analyzed the scouts' various data to see if the player being talked about was talented or not. However, since a scout has been reviewing a player for many years, the club's reviewer has a few years of extensive information. And a player is selected using a long time for several years.

However, in modern football, the club's reviewer's or analyst's work has been made easier by a new technology called 'data science'. However, Matthew Flamini's signing at Arsenal is an example. The Gunners recruited Flamini based on data reviewed over the years. In contrast, Barcelona's two new signers, Francisco Trinco and Pedri result from several years of hard work by scouts.

The last category of the official is the Agent. They are directly involved with the player and control all matters related to a player's transfer and salary. However, with the change in modern football, just like football and team has exchanged, how agents think, and act has also changed. If a Football club is interested in a player, now an agent decides whether that player will sign a team contract. So, among the three types of officials behind the selection and transfer of players, this Agent is the most well-known and, in some cases, most 'infamous' also. That's why Jorge Mendis or Mino Raiola are two famous names that have changed a lot.

Now let's proceed towards the front of the screen. How does a footballer move from one club to another? Firstly, when a footballer is playing for a club, that footballer is the property of that club. So, if the club has a big contract with the player, then the club can influence that player. However, if another club is interested in buying that player, it sends a message to the club offering a cash exchange; In the language of football, it is called 'transfer request'. The club has the power to return this transfer request. If the exchange rate does not seem desirable to them, they can re-send the message to increase the exchange rate. Thus, when there is an agreement between the two parties, then the player's time of work and the Agent comes on the scene.

Again, a lot of the time, the interested club first talks to the player. If the player is interested, the interested party starts talking to the player's club. But even then, the club of the opposing player has the power to reject that application. In this case, it depends on the length of the club's contract with the player and the amount of the release clause. When a club signs an agreement with a player, the deal mentions a certain amount of money. If another Football club wants to buy that player while there is a contract, they must buy him by paying the release clause. In this case, the player's club will not be able to stop. A certain amount of money is called 'release clause'. PSG bought Neymar from Barcelona for 222 million euros, and Neymar himself agreed to the deal. So, there was no way to hold Neymar in front of Barcelona.

When the initial agreement between the two clubs is reached, then the player's deal is rushed. Here the player has the power not to make this offer if he wants. In the just-concluded summer transfer season, Manchester United wanted to sign Barcelona winger Usman Dembele on loan. In this case, Barcelona agreed, but Dembele did not agree. So, in the end, this deal didn't work anymore.

If, after all the agreements between the two clubs, the player also agrees to move to another club. The player's Agent then talks about his contract's duration with the new club, the weekly salary, and other bonuses. If both parties agree here, then the transfer is complete. But in today's modern football, this process is quite tricky. Because, in the current context, every club sits down and demands a high price for their players. Again, the agents also urged all the salaries in a frenzy, which has changed the current football transfer market. If a player has suffered a severe injury in the past, this injury can also reduce the player's price and salary. When a player's Agent demands a high salary, the opposing club tries to reduce the salary and bonus by raising issues like an injury.

Spanish club Barcelona is one of the acknowledgments of the change. However, they also have a contribution to turning the market around. After selling Neymar, new players in that position had to buy them at any cost. So, they had to pay a high price to buy Usman Dembele. They wanted to buy Philippe Coutinho at any cost, which Liverpool realized and did not come down from their exorbitant price. And as Barcelona's former board players have been offered extra pay, Barcelona is currently in financial trouble.

The way described above is the most comfortable and most time-consuming process for buying a player. There are also loan transfers in football, where a footballer plays for a club for a certain period and returns to his former club when the term expires. A 'buy-out clause' is often added when selling players. This 'buy-out clause' means a certain amount of money. Within a certain period after the player's sale, the player can be reimbursed by paying the amount mentioned in the buy-out clause of his former club. For example, this season, Real Madrid sold their academy fullback Serge Regillon to Tottenham Hotspur. In this case, the buy-out clause is mentioned in the contract. They will be able to bring Reguillon back to the team within a certain period.

Also, a club often buys a player and lends it to that club for a short time. Such an agreement can be seen if the team changes in the middle of the season. Chelsea bought winger Christian Pulisic from Borussia Dortmund in this manner. Once again, there is an opportunity for the club to buy the player after the loan period's expiration. This is how PSG recruited Killian Mbabane from Monaco.

A common swap process is the 'swap deal.' This does not mean that another replaces one player. Armenian winger Henrikh Mkhitaryan came to Arsenal with this swap deal, in contrast to Chilean winger Alexis Sanchez was taken by Manchester United. A general idea of how a player changes teams are found. But behind it, there is a vast exchange of money. In this case, only the club gets this money. And from where so much money comes?

Take Neymar's transfer as an example. PSG did not hand over 222 million euros directly to Barcelona in the release clause. Barcelona got the money to sell Neymar in exchange for the Spanish Football Federation. Of the 222 million euros, about 38 million euros went to agents associated with the transfer, including Neymar's father. So maybe Barca was able to earn as much as 160 million euros from the sale of Neymar. However, the controversy behind the transfer is not over. The real truth has not yet come out.

European clubs withdraw the money of transfers, mainly from jersey and ticket sales and from television broadcasts. When star footballers like Neymar at the club, it is not a big deal to make money in all these areas.

However, whether it is earning money or changing parties, many things are not made public here. They are not even allowed to come to light. Because, above all, football is also a business platform. Buying this player for a massive amount of money is not just improving the team or bringing a title to the club; there are many big business ideas behind it; Which we cannot even imagine in ordinary eyes.

It will be okay if we don't think about these. For ordinary spectators like us, football is just a game, and the club that supports it is the place of all emotions.