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O/T Why do footballer's feel the need to have 'football agents'

Incredible that anyone would question an 18, 19, 20, 21 yr old having a rep do all their negotiating.

IF you want to concentrate on your football, on your job, then you will make sure you have an agent you can trust. Someone who won't be trumped and who will fight your corner.

I know it SEEMS very easy, but when you factor in how complicated these deal can get with regards to bonus structures, etc, you're talking about hours and hours of work to make sure you're on top of everything. Whether you CAN do it yourself or not becomes moot. You want to focus on your skill-set, your job? Then hire a professional to do this stuff. I'm sure we could all fix the toilet in the end , tinker here, tinker there, but most of us who are not plumbers will save ourselves time and hire a professional to get the job done.
 
Millsy_Yiddo said:
I guy I grew up playing football with has been playing in the MLS for a couple of years now. His journey to getting there was pretty long and complicated (he's coming 28 and only 'made it' to the MLS when he was 26). Any time he was out of contract his agent was basically there to help him find a club. For that kind of thing, I'd say an agent is pretty useful, but for the real top players who are never going to be without a club they aren't really needed. Surely players could just pay an employment lawyer to review and negotiate the contracts rather than having the added complication of an agent who wants certain percentages of the fee etc.
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I think you're over-estimating most players with regards to their confidence and ability to fight their corner with a DoF.
 
Question - would any of you buy/sell a house without a real estate agent? Real estate agents are a pain in the ass but a necessary evil - like football agents. They understand the housing market, negotiate a price for the seller, makes sure that everything goes through etc.

There is a good section in the Secret Footballer Book which is written by an agent - obviously it is going to be slightly biased but his opinions make sense. These guys can help the players as they understand what wages are paid, a players worth etc etc.

Gareth Bale's agent though annoying is trying to do whats best for Gareth Bale, get that big money move to Madrid or ensure he gets a massive contract with us - so in Gareth's eyes he is doing a great job. In our eyes he is a taco.
 
iggyfog said:
Question - would any of you buy/sell a house without a real estate agent? Real estate agents are a pain in the ass but a necessary evil - like football agents. They understand the housing market, negotiate a price for the seller, makes sure that everything goes through etc.

There is a good section in the Secret Footballer Book which is written by an agent - obviously it is going to be slightly biased but his opinions make sense. These guys can help the players as they understand what wages are paid, a players worth etc etc.

Gareth Bale's agent though annoying is trying to do whats best for Gareth Bale, get that big money move to Madrid or ensure he gets a massive contract with us - so in Gareth's eyes he is doing a great job. In our eyes he is a taco.
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It is an interesting read, I was trying to find it earlier when I posted the link to the other secret footballer article. The agent who wrote that chapter is rumoured to be Sky Andrew *ducks for cover*
 
iggyfog said:
Question - would any of you buy/sell a house without a real estate agent? Real estate agents are a pain in the ass but a necessary evil - like football agents. They understand the housing market, negotiate a price for the seller, makes sure that everything goes through etc.

There is a good section in the Secret Footballer Book which is written by an agent - obviously it is going to be slightly biased but his opinions make sense. These guys can help the players as they understand what wages are paid, a players worth etc etc.

Gareth Bale's agent though annoying is trying to do whats best for Gareth Bale, get that big money move to Madrid or ensure he gets a massive contract with us - so in Gareth's eyes he is doing a great job. In our eyes he is a taco.
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Not sure I agree with this, he's trying to get a big money move anywhere and the reason for this is that he gets a cut of the money. Same way that he will get a cut in some sort of way of the money in Gareth's contract if he stays here. So essentially, although it looks like he's trying to get what's best for Bale, he's actually trying to do what makes him the most money. If Bale turned round and said, 'fudge it, I can't be arsed anymore, I'm want to sign for a rich team in Russia and just coast through the rest of my career' and there was a ridiculous bid on the table do you really think the agent would be saying, 'Gareth, I don't think this is best for your career, your one of the best players in the world, even though they've offered you (us) less money, I think you should move to Madrid'. I doubt it.

Having thought about it I do agree with Steff though, they probably are essential for players to fight their corner.
 
Agents make most of their money when new contracts are signed. Regardless of what club that happens at, their main weapon is always feeding transfer rumours to the press.
 
Every time I read about one of the legends of my childhood dying skint and having sold his medals to pay the heating bills I say it justifies agents.
 
This. I've long held the opinion that the ones doing the work get the lions share of the proceeds. If there's a billion £ TV deal, the players should earn £300k a week if that's what's available, not some dusty executive shareholder as it has been and still is. What is absurd, is that people spend £500+ a year on sky sports and then complain about wages.

All an agent does is put a man in charge of access. If a load of tacos want to pay all their savings on reading an autobiography of a macaron, the agent just says how much. You complain about agents, but who's generating the demand? Its the football obsessed population of the world.
 
Gordinho said:
Every time I read about one of the legends of my childhood dying skint and having sold his medals to pay the heating bills I say it justifies agents.
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This.

I think there's an ugly 'third layer' of agent which is tarnishing the whole thing. The really tossy ones who lack honour and integrity. We know who they are!
 
oh come on, are we really asking this question? :)

a professional negotiator to give you the best deal versus an amateur being yourself?

people need agents so that they can get the best deals as much as possible.

some kid off the street that is only good at playing football from mostly modest disenfranchised background.....going up to a board room and trying to get the best deals against Alan Sugar or Daniel Levy

:ross: they need agent mates

dont hate the agents......hate the game
 
Some good points have been made in this thread, particularly about young players starting off who need to find clubs they can play for.
 
To the OP question, yes absolutely. Whether young or journeyman players trying to find a club or top players needing someone to represent their affairs, they all need some form of professional help. While the Nevilles may not have had a football agent I'm sure they had legal and financial advisers to help them with their affairs. I'm sure Fergie could point them in the direction of a family member.

But I'd ask do we need a better class of agent?

thfcsteff said:
I think there's an ugly 'third layer' of agent which is tarnishing the whole thing. The really tossy ones who lack honour and integrity. We know who they are!
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This is the trouble, including the superagents like Kia Joobywhatsit, who is effectively a speculative human trafficker.

There are also things that could be done to eliminate conflicts of interest, with agents representing both clubs and players (a bit like estate agents). It would be better if agents were paid more like showbiz agents - a percentage of earnings - rather than getting a cut of the deal, which incentivizes frequent moves.
 
jts1882 said:
To the OP question, yes absolutely. Whether young or journeyman players trying to find a club or top players needing someone to represent their affairs, they all need some form of professional help. While the Nevilles may not have had a football agent I'm sure they had legal and financial advisers to help them with their affairs. I'm sure Fergie could point them in the direction of a family member.

But I'd ask do we need a better class of agent?



This is the trouble, including the superagents like Kia Joobywhatsit, who is effectively a speculative human trafficker.

There are also things that could be done to eliminate conflicts of interest, with agents representing both clubs and players (a bit like estate agents). It would be better if agents were paid more like showbiz agents - a percentage of earnings - rather than getting a cut of the deal, which incentivizes frequent moves.
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I thought that was how agents are paid? Don't they get part of the players signing on fee, which is why they always want their clients to move?
 
africanspurs said:
oh come on, are we really asking this question? :)

a professional negotiator to give you the best deal versus an amateur being yourself?

people need agents so that they can get the best deals as much as possible.

some kid off the street that is only good at playing football from mostly modest disenfranchised background.....going up to a board room and trying to get the best deals against Alan Sugar or Daniel Levy

:ross: they need agent mates

dont hate the agents......hate the game
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=D>...though i will always hate mamic and that knob who repped berba, danchev. remember when that was used like the word '****' on these boards LOL...i.e. "what a danchev!"
 
Craig_J said:
I thought that was how agents are paid? Don't they get part of the players signing on fee, which is why they always want their clients to move?
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I was thinking more of direct payments from the clubs to agents which can be millions each season (someone has over £7m recently, iirc). But you are right about the signing on fee being problematic, perhaps these should be banned or excluded from earnings. If an agent gets a percentage of wages and bonuses, he is encouraged to negotiate the best deal for his client without the incentive to change clubs.
 
I know if I was a premiership player I'd want an agent, even if I could have a reasonable go at doing it myself. Someone comes along, takes away the burden of all the late night phone calls, and craziness of transfer windows, all the complexities of image rights and contract details, and it doesn't cost you anything -in fact you get more money. It's a no-brainer.

Plus the fact that some managers and chairmen moan about the influence of agents, demonstrates the agent's are probably doing a decent job, optimising the market value of their clients.
So if I was a premiership player, where I'd spend my effort would be doing some due-diligence in choosing an agent in the first place. And then make sure that they are serving my interests, rather than the other way around, by instructing them properly. And having a little thought about how I want my career to work out.

Then let my agent get on with it...leaving me free to party..sorry, train hard...
 
thfcsteff said:
=D>...though i will always hate mamic and that knob who repped berba, danchev. remember when that was used like the word '****' on these boards LOL...i.e. "what a danchev!"
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I started calling people danchevs in real-life!
 
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