Are football agents good for the game?
When I was growing up I'd never heard of football agents and I still don't understand why players need them either. It was pretty simple back then; a club made a bid for a player and if the bid was accepted the player was told and talks would take place. The talks would take place between the Manager and maybe the Chairman; that was thirty years ago.
While doing research for this article I found this;
'Football Agents' are a Firm of Solicitors rightly placed to offer advice to football players and clubs upon the FA Regulations, employment law, contracts, disputes, rights and responsibilities. It is important to note that the FA require player and club when dealing with transfers and contracts to only deal with a licensed agent or registered solicitors. In all our professional dealings we offer independent and confidential advice. Our core duty is always to serve our clients best interests in good faith and to offer advice and representation without fear or favour. Football Clubs, Players and Parents or guardians of young football players can be assured of expert advice, career management and development.
Now I thought every child is taught to read and write should be able to read a contract and work out the wages that they will get. Now of course the modern day footballer gets endorsments and sponsorship and again surely they can work out how much money they will get.
The FA require players to have an agent, but why? Are they saying that some players are not intelligent enough to work out their own contract? It's insulting and then there's the thing that really gets me; the agent's fee!
Andy Carroll's former agent Peter Harrison claims he once made nine hundred thousand pounds in just one day! He also suggests that young players are often 'tapped up' by agents just so they sign them up, it is something that I can well believe.
I, like many other football fans, think the amount of money in the game is outrageous. A strong rumour is Lionel Messi will sign a new contract and will earn six hundred thousand pounds a week! I wonder how much his agent is getting?
Going back to growing up with football; the best person to look after a young player is the Parent or Parents of the child. They want their child to have a great future both on the field and financially. I suppose it's easier for a club to deal with an agent than a Parent that wants what's best for their child!