Why Footballers Keep Running Down Their Contracts

[@hiltibrant1976]

It is kinda weird to talk about "running down a contract", instead of "fulfilling a contract", which is what they actually do.

[@NejiEyes]

He says exactly this at around the 30:00 mark! I agree , “running down a contract” sounds like it’s a selfish act from the player

[@manusiabumi7673]

@Shafin Khadem Same with Hakan and Donnaruma, as a Milan fan i'm completely fine with them moving to Inter and PSG when their contracts were up, for me it's just another case of workers changing jobs, but many fans seem to view this as some sort of 'betrayal' and end up calling them names even though (afaik) they didn't violate any terms of their contracts

[@linusminus3]

@Shafin Khadem I think it is a remnant of the origins of european football. When the first football clubs were formed it not as corporations but as the name suggests clubs or associations, just like any hobby. Then members and players were perhaps expected to be more loyal to their club as it was seen more as more than simply a financial bond between them, but a friendship-like connection which another club shouldn't be able to compete with. This is still largely the case in my country of Sweden where teams are still first-and-foremost an association, or what we in Sweden call "folkrörelse" (movement), which espouse certain ideals and common beliefs (which are really the same in most clubs and the supporters really only differ based on geographical origin) and shouldn't be taken lightly. Of course this is also based on differing cultures in Sweden and the UK respectively which have a bigger impact on both of the societies as a whole. And it should also be said that swedish players still leave clubs for bigger fees when they are simply to good for the swedish Allsvenskan, but we have reconciled with that fact ever since eueopean football became professional.

[@DaybreakPT]

If you can make people say something specific, you can make people think something specific along those lines.

[@linusminus3]

@Shafin Khadem I see what you're saying and it is completely right

[@Nicksta2006]

Finally someone said it on a KZbin video. The price of football players now makes it almost impossible to buy. Ever since the neymar deal players have just been running down their contracts so they can move.

[@henrymarks1632]

Everyone is saying this

[@mendozerms]

@@henrymarks1632 not (or hardly) on a youtube video though!

[@pashkodreshaj2558]

@@henrymarks1632 true

[@pashkodreshaj2558]

@@mendozerms also true

[@Nicksta2006]

@@henrymarks1632 he literally says no one has talked about it apart from "yes its happening".

[@markpeter506]

Is this foreshadowing that Alfie leaving HITC at the end of his contract? If the Irish Guy is anything to go by then it’s probably a good move.

[@hayzinthehouse2744]

When his boss is taking most his wages while doing no work he should do it. We already have the Alfie Potts Harmer account.

[@emjackson2289]

My mum's brother-in-law's cousin's window cleaner's dog-walker knows someone's son who says he's put a "come and get me plea" into Disney Channel FC United . . . . .

[@bricktop.]

I never understood a word that came out of that Irish lads mouth so I have zero idea if he was good or not. What happened to him anyway, is he solo now?

[@VillaFanDan92]

Yeah, the point you made about the taboo of running down a contract is a real thing. As a Villa fan, I was delighted to sign Kamara from Marseille - but the amount of hate he's getting from Marseille fans for not giving his boyhood club a transfer fee is massive. Which, I totally understand the Marseille fan's emotions - but he hasn't actually done anything wrong.

[@xavier1752]

It’s more so the fact that in January he was thought to be leaving to Milan or another club with CL football as he is that quality of player but instead he’s going to a middling Premier League side

[@reintaler6355]

@@xavier1752 but again, why does that matter if you're a fan?

[@xavier1752]

@@reintaler6355 Because Marseille are in the CL and Aston Villa don’t have Europe. Why didn’t he just sign a new deal? Why not wait for a better club? I’m not a fan of Marseille nor do I get attached to players so I don’t give a shit but I would assume those are the questions Marseille fans would be asking themselves. I understand the agitation I suppose, it’s a baffling career move

[@reintaler6355]

@@xavier1752 ​ They haven't made peace with the fact that even midtable PL clubs have as much pulling power as European standard clubs in some other countries, it seems

[@adriangiagnacovo9469]

His agent said he wouldn't leave for free...them he did

[@supremebison8281]

The HITC Sevens channel won’t survive losing Alfie on a free, just like HITC Sport failed to replace The Irish Guy. Time to leave Alfie: full control over videos, self promo and sponsorship. We’ll follow you along 👊

[@dinasov9]

Yeah just like the Irish Guy did with his new channel

[@O2RiDeR_]

i mean i wouldve tried watching the new guy on sport but the fact that its literally a new guy every video is annoying and made me unsubscribe

[@vaughncoolman8273]

Alfie & Irish Guy made HITC, I don't even know what HITC stands for, who they are, what they do, nor do i care.

[@LoyalFan9383]

@@vaughncoolman8273 literally me as well

[@LoyalFan9383]

Fax

[@aryamanmani4025]

Kane has always said he would stay at Spurs if he felt the club was 'moving forward,' he tried to move last summer and the one before where Spurs finished 6th and 7th. However, it seems like he's open to a new contract now with Conte staying and the club making top 4, I suspect its also down to minimal interest as well.

[@williamcross210]

He also made 10 million a year, so it wasn't like he was hurting for money.

[@aryamanmani4025]

@@williamcross210 Yeah, also the club are willing to more than double his current wage. Lets see how it plays out.

[@abuhassan8849]

With Haaland joining Man City, Kane has no choice but to re-sign with Spurs

[@theblackswordsman9951]

@@abuhassan8849 He's also old and so won't be able to get as big a contract elsewhere and Spurs are the only ones who will offer it because they can't attract anyone else as good as him.

[@StoutProper]

@@abuhassan8849 city would still sign Kane but not for that price

[@spicyturbocans5848]

Can’t believe you said ‘one size fits all’ and didn’t flash up a picture of legendary defender Fitz Hall.

[@mikenash9709]

This….

[@jimmymorgan5282]

I'm an American (like 15% of your audience and 90% of your comments... Sorry about that) who studied sports management and business. The concept of "running down contracts" is actually more recent in American sports and represents a huge shift in power from the teams to the players. Typically, teams make money regardless. After all the sport and team is what is popular, the players come and go. As an athlete in most impact and contact sports (Football, NFL, hockey, basketball, etc.) You have approximately 10-15 years in your career. So if you sign 5 year deals, you have 1 rookie deal, 1 prime deal, and 1 sunset deal. Teams often push players to sign extensions for longer deals to avoid paying full value during those prime years. Some players break the mold (Ronaldo/Messi, Tom Brady, Sidney Crosby, Lebron James) where their career will clearly last longer, and it will be almost entirely prime contract years. But for the other 99%, you have to plan your retirement before the age of 40, so contracts need to be in service of that. Fans will want the player to "do the right thing" for the team, but as a player who probably doesn't have the skills for other career paths, you need to set yourself up as much as possible. And that means, you HAVE to run those contracts down until you get the deal you want. You'll almost always make more on an open market than a one-team negotiation. And you never know when an injury ends it all. So yeah, as a fan I hate it. But if I were them, I would do the exact same thing.

[@raminsamii745]

yes bigger contracts and signing bonuses, and in most cases their family members are part of their agents, so they can make 10M, 20M, 30M or more during the entire career of a player. Mbappe is only 23, but I can guarantee that his family has received over 50M Euros so far by representing him and signing twice with the PSG. 20 years ago, players signed contract and with their salary they helped financially their family members, but now they don't have to give them anything, they just become their agents.

[@shaunnichols1743]

One small point regarding American sports: Major League Baseball clubs do have to pay Japanese teams a "posting fee" when signing a player based on the size of their contract. Generally this only happens 1-2 times a season and only with the very top players.

[@brianeleighton]

Actually, there are a number of leagues covered under that rule. If a player is deemed to have played professionally in Japan or Korea they are for sure covered. At that point the player has to play at least 8 seasons I believe in their Domestic League and can then request to be posted. If the team decides to post them, then they are subject to that posting fee you are talking about. The posting fee is also not based on the value of the contract, it is the result of a bidding process. The highest bidder gets the rights to negotiate with a player. The player will then negotiate their contract with the MLB team. If they don't come to terms, the MLB team loses the posting fee. Shohei didn't play professionally in Japan because he wanted to go straight to MLB. He just dominated in Kaishen and then did it again in the WBC.

[@Viewer41]

Going forward, I'd imagine most players will have reasonable release clauses or run down their contract. Hopefully this will bring transfer fees back down.

[@abdullahali1889]

I’d agree with this but clubs will never agree to reasonable release clauses. Look at Barcelona for example they have release clauses worth billions lol

[@fuckcontinentals]

@@abdullahali1889 that's just cuz they need a release clause by la liga rules

[@yes-wh1zj]

@@fuckcontinentals and because of the neymar deal which started all this shit.

[@michaelpodho1912]

it makes sense,from the wenger prediction back then to the high number of cases of free agents who are star players

[@alexbelotti1603]

Genius

[@y.b4251]

And his 2 teams prediction is pretty spot on too. 1 for the league and another 1 for the cups.

[@OfficialFingazMC]

A video about the success of Carol Shanahan and Port Vale since she bought the club would be good, especially since we just won the playoff final

[@lordgemini2376]

Haha her son cutting off his hair was great. I wish you guys success in the coming seasons!

[@OfficialFingazMC]

@@lordgemini2376 Haha yeah looks proper dodgy. Our keeper Covalon did it lol. Thanks mate.

[@constablekennedy7705]

The Footballers get to Control their Own Narrative and get Bigger Contracts + Signing On Bonuses as Free Agents ….. ⚽️

[@perfectsoundforever3775]

A video about invincibles who didn't win the league, there's more than you think; Galatasary, Perugia, Red Star Belgrade, Benfica

[@Cynicayke]

Arsene Wenger said he could go a season undefeated, got mocked, and then did it anyway. It boggles the mind that people don't listen to him.

[@gm2407]

Arsenal had aready did a season with only 1 lose in the early 90s as well. So it was not inconceivable.

[@g.j.mmakau8578]

£35m was poor from Arsenal. Cesc was a generational talent and should have been sold for no less than £50m. But this was Wenger's issue. He sold players for peanuts post 2005.

[@kanekennedy8819]

35m was alot back then..

[@ohgin12345]

@@kanekennedy8819 he is easily worth 50mill or more even at that time

[@gm2407]

Arsenal's fault for getting rid of David Dean. Not only would he have got a better price, he wouls have helped Wenger get the players he wanted. Even Wenger says he wished he resigned when Dean left.

[@dazzaMusic]

The Bosman Law really gave the power to the players

[@lordgemini2376]

Workers rights 💪

[@Crocodile212]

This is really well done Alfie - as I have come to expect! I’d really like you to go back in time and cover Jim McLean and his mad 7 year contracts that he did at Dundee United back in the day - I think you’d enjoy researching it and comparing it to today’s shenanigans!

[@sidosh2229]

Day 33: Considering that the last player who played in the miracle of Bern died about 6 months ago, I would really like to see a video about the whole story between Germany and Hungary, especially because it meant so much to at least the German population

[@thegloriouspyrocheems2277]

Have a like

[@ChavalonJabon]

Lol 4 likes for this unknown shit tabloid fact, get in the bin!

[@andrsmaldo]

Can't believe Alfie has finally pronounced Lionel Messi correctly (now let's get him to say Cazorla properly pronounced)

[@thomasjohnson2862]

“Cathorla” - the Spanish ‘z’ is an English ‘th’

[@simongreenwood445]

Great work Alfie as always

[@Desabafando10]

I really like your long videos Alfie. These documentaries are awesome

[@Steveck072]

Interesting thing about the American leagues - players have no say in transfers - if a team decides to transfer them while they are under contract, they have no choice but to go to the new club

[@webdeke]

Not always, players can have clauses in their contract to either protect them from trades (either to anywhere for certain teams) or expansion drafts when new teams are added. This is usually given to star players.

[@Steveck072]

Yes - but a no trade clause has to be specifically negotiated by the player (not automatic like in football) and as you said only star players have the power/leverage to get them

[@mandalay110]

Thanks Alfie! I have been thinking about this myself for a few times. Seems to happen more often nowadays.

[@notthatcreativewithnames]

The point between 31:00 and 31:15 is interesting. I would probably argue that football fans tend to consider themselves as fans of a club rather than of a particular player. A football club, to the fans, can also be viewed as an institutional thing representing their locality or their root, be it their parents' hometown, their race, their religion, their educational institute, or anything meaningful. Therefore, fans would prefer any kind of changes that are more beneficial to the clubs they support. This is probably also why many players have "childhood dream" clubs that they hope that they will play with their dream clubs one day. I am divided, honestly, whether football clubs should be run as institutions representing whatever roots or as business entities. There might be a sweet spot somewhere between both ends, probably.

[@justme-hh4vp]

That's why football is unlike any other business. there's no other business where the customers take such an interest in its investments

[@reintaler6355]

@@justme-hh4vp and no other business where the customers are as brutally abused for their commitment

[@notthatcreativewithnames]

The question I have now after pondering for a while is this. "How would football fans view their clubs, as institutions representing their roots, or as brands they are loyal to?" The so-called superclubs tend to attract not only fans from the geographical areas but also fans from overseas. Sure, expats exist, so do people from totally irrelevant places who fall in love with the club performance when they watch the game broadcast to them. Overseas fans, at least from my point of view as someone from an Asian country where European football is popular, tend to bluff each other about how their clubs or their favourite players are superior. Arguments about, say, Messi vs Ronaldo, Liverpool vs Manchester United, or Real Madrid vs FC Barcelona that are happening somewhere thousands of kilometres away from England or Spain are just like iOS vs Android, DC vs Marvel, Coca-Cola vs Pepsi, or any rivalries between two big brands that you can only like one of them at most. That's why now I wonder whether these superclubs are still meant to represent portions of people from, say, Liverpool, Manchester, Madrid, Barcelona, and so on or now meant to be global brands attracting loyalties from somewhere far away where quality of football is still inferior. The latter is probably why some people thought that the European Super League was a good idea to commerciallise "premium football" worldwide.

[@MillhouseSpeaks]

Why shouldn’t they! They signed for x amount of years why should they have to stay beyond

[@arthurqampi3239]

This was an amazing watch, and the last few minutes was truthful and mind blowing

[@JohnSmith-rw2yn]

I think if you played league 1 or 2 and someone waved 5 to 6 years in your face you are biting their hand off. You want long term job security, when you are a great player in the top leagues you can easily afford to run down a contract and play hard ball.

[@KreskizKi]

With NBA and such, the difference is that they are super robust, with no promotion/relegation system. In European football it could be possible for a completely new team to go up through the ranks and enter the top tier league which would make it very tricky in that financial department.

[@rwalker0130]

solution for the club- determine whether your player, especially stars, wants to stay. If not, find out where they want to go and work out a trade before their contract expires. Pretty common in America- especially when used with a holdout

[@DomenBremecXCVI]

2 years ago my friend and I started to do an FM save where we place as many free agents as possible into a team a see how they perform in the Prem. The player has to be a free agent at the time of making the experiment, and a few have to be either a meme, players who are far past their best but kinda legendary, or from our home country... Just so it's not too easy.

[@lizzy6333]

how did you do

[@DomenBremecXCVI]

@@lizzy6333 Bottom 5, but I suspect doing it on like 1st of July could boost the squad a lot. We had a chance to have Messi last summer but we couldn't find the time earlier in the summer.

[@romiarkan450]

I started an Indonesian league save in which the primary source of signing is via free agency (which is true irl apparently). Started at the second tier basically doing the moneyball tactic with a squad full of free agents. Got promoted to the top tier after winning the third place playoff. Then signed more free agents in the offseason, as well as paying £10k for a young Colombian keeper stuck in development hell in the Malaysian league in the middle of the season after finding out my homegrown keepers weren't good enough for the level of competition (keep in mind the league has a four foreign players quota, and this Colombian goalie was my first foreign player signing of the save). Had no leverage to try nabbing one of the top teams' backup keepers somewhat for being a promoted team. Five seasons later, three league titles in a row, two FA cup titles, and a regular in the continental stage. I gave that Colombian keeper a contract extension and then sold him to a club at a higher level competition for like £200k a season later because apparently a club cleaning the domestic league for a few seasons as well as being a continental champions league regular isn't enough to raise its stature. At least all the top players available both domestic and foreign now want to play for my team. And I have by far the deepest squad in the league.

[@maciejbala477]

​In Football Manager, it's easy to build an entire team around pre-contracts/free agents (with maybe some shrewd transfers in between), and maybe spend big money if you really need it AND are swimming in cash at that point.

[@chalkandcheese3211]

Do a video on why it took so long for Forest to return to the prem

[@1965radster]

NF are garbage and proved it buy third world officials who are a major issue with the once great English national game ⚔️💯

[@vftriplex]

i think it would be interesting to see more set contracts like you see in the nba. it would give players more freedom in a more open free agency and prevent scummy club contracts of ridiculously long extensions

[@samelmudir]

aren't most players being transferred to clubs they want to go to? maybe not always their #1 choice but teams aren't going to spend millions on a transfer for a player that doesn't want to play for them

[@eddyededwin]

is that really what we want? players teaming up to form superteams leaving a bunch of dead teams?

[@andrewmcarthur7140]

@@eddyededwin the NBA’s super teams do not hold a candle to the difference between Man City and Crystal Palace

[@OberonStudios]

@@andrewmcarthur7140 Crystal palace beat Man city this season 🤡🤡🤡

[@robert2690]

@@samelmudir Ok? When that happens, teams just don’t play him. It’s that simple. Or trade him away. Or waive him but you’re going to have to pay him.

[@DomenBremecXCVI]

Day 1: Explaining different league formats. Most are quite easy to grasp, but then I see stuff like Liga MX (congrats Atlas btw) with their apertura and clausura, or whatever the Belgians were thinking. I understand the meaning of words, but what's the idea behind those formats.

[@daarom3472]

Maybe also add the entire european qualification ruling. For instance, because Real Madrid beat Liverpool, Ajax are now in pot 1 in the CL. If Liverpool had won they'd be in pot 2. Or, Feyenoord supporting Roma to win their last league fixture because if they won it, Feyenoord would secure their place in the group phase of the Europa League even if they lost the final (which they did).

[@Mad_Intellect]

Yeah i used to watch South American leagues religiously back in highschool and college(specifically Argentina and Brazil), at first I couldn't understand how you can have 2 champs in 1 season.

[@andytaylor8908]

Love the channel (and the intros). Keep it up brother. Don’t change a thing.

[@hazzajamesb]

Rugby premiership has a salary cap and works pretty well. I think they should have it in the top football leagues. Its just getting ridiculous at this point

[@_Father_Stone]

23:26 have a print of this framed at my house, was not expecting to see it on a football youtube video. list under odd crossovers.

[@notthatcreativewithnames]

It has become more acceptable in other professions for employees to have negotiating powers against employers as well.

[@danielhargrave7910]

Any chance of a video about football in the Olympics? I just don't see why it's not a big deal seeing as the Olympics is so well watched

[@DrAnarchy69]

This development makes association football a lot more like US sports. Since transfers aren’t a thing (99 times out of 100 American sports have “trades” aka player swaps) players are either traded or signed in free agency. So footballers running down their contracts makes them a lot more like US athletes and give them more leverage. Edit: Alfie literally said this same exact thing LOL

[@Hilversumborn]

Excellent work Alfie.

[@sameerbernard1167]

Last 5 videos have been straight fire bro

[@williamcross210]

One idea from the NBA is sign and trade deals, where the player gets a new contract and the club gets a different player to replace the leaving player.

[@Noobie2k7]

I wish my players in FM would do it instead of asking for an improved deal every 6 months.

[@peterdoodle5132]

I enjoyed this video. Good work.

[@wrigh2uk]

Ramsey wanted to stay at Arsenal btw, it was Unai Emery who was against it, and thus the contract renewal was not offered

[@g.j.mmakau8578]

Nah. Ramsey was offered stupid money that no one could refuse.

[@wrigh2uk]

@@g.j.mmakau8578 no he didn’t google it. Even wenger himself confirmed it, and even Ramsey said the contract offer was withdrawn without any reason.

[@ohgin12345]

They should have just extended his contract instead of letting him go for free

[@ossiaigbedo7223]

I wouldn’t pay Ramsey over 100k per week. Juve is making the same mistakes Barcelona made.

[@ohgin12345]

Because they got him for free. He would have been worth at least 50 mill at that time

[@jairusfukiau1239]

I never understood why football didn’t have free agency like the American sports because it means that wages can be regulated but I guess it’s a bigger headache to legislate that over a whole continent but if they did things like FFP wouldn’t be needed however more money would need to be put into the ladder in other ways

[@rgwyc]

lovely video

[@kennycity9508]

It is the norm in league 1 and 2 in england. Clubs are refusing to sell with 2 years left on their contract when they are find the offers coming up short. Eventhough the transfer value is dropping from that point.

[@shubhamjain6435]

Great topic man!

[@elliotboro98]

Maybe a "What went wrong" or "what went right" series about various club takeovers (e.g. Monaco) or legendary squads and their downfall (e.g Inter)

[@simoncaton1226]

Another point especially from the nba. In that league, the Miami Heat signed 3 Allstars (including possibly the best player ever) in Lebron James, Chris Bosh and Dwayne Wade. All 3 had allegedly made a pact that they would all join the same team when their deals expire. Now the trend of players teaming up is common in the NBA. Maybe we see some of that for football??? Like 3 England players teaming up and signing for Real Madrid when their contracts run out

[@eddixon2015]

Oh good god, please no.

[@ThreeRunHomer]

It’s inevitable, but the number of clubs that can afford it will be limited to the usual huge clubs. The NBA has much better revenue sharing than any of the football leagues, so all of the NBA teams are a possible destination for a group of stars.

[@WastedxSkillz]

Brilliant video and timing because I was literally talking about this same issue to a friend a week ago

[@danieltaylor3737]

Players subcontracting their services as private entities to clubs rather than being employed by clubs directly is certainly something I could see happening, as it could open all kinds of tax/benefit loopholes for them. I've got first hand experience of some professional sportspeople here in New Zealand attempting that very same trick, with mixed results/response

[@niksv4165]

Day 468: Ways to fix VAR with your suggestions

[@chibifirestorm]

VAR is not a problem anywhere else but England, it's just the referees in England are garbage

[@diablogt4899]

Love the topgear content

[@senanjackson3364]

Could you do a video explaining all those different Uefa Competions, like the Intertoto Cup, Cup Winners Cup, Fairs Cup and any others you find. I don't really understand them and I thought who better to explain them than you

[@moonlight_-.975]

Fr

[@simonpeyton-n3h]

inertoto cup was like a pre season european tourney u cud enter with the goal of winning it giving u a place in the europa league,cup winners cup is self explanotory,if u won your countries FA cup u entered cup winners cup now u just get into europa league,fairs cup was like an early europa league but it was invite only i think not based on league position

[@woodchuck031]

Cheers from the states 🇺🇸

[@Amlof]

in Australian Rugby League, the only way to escape your contract without completing it is to get sacked or to do a swap deal but even then it's only in the final year.

[@12thMandalorian]

They have more power to just move to another club and earn a huge signing on fee, clubs cannot hold them to ransom with a huge fee no one will pay, the risk to this is if they get injured then no one will touch them

[@enfado23]

Very good point. This is why Pogba has massively slacked off for months now, he literally has barely been arsed to play because an injury could ruin his plans for a move

[@aginai2170]

@@enfado23 maybe clubs should also put a clause in players contracts that if they don't achieve certain targets, they're obliged to pay back a certain percentage of their earnings to the club

[@reintaler6355]

That's partly why the old model had been tried and true: players used to get injured a lot more. Now with rapid advancement in treatment and sports science, it's become less and less of a threat to their careers

[@TheStuartGibson]

May have been long, but it was a great video

[@phillygolf4229]

Kinda of an American shot if you think about it. These guys see Americans walking after fulfilling their contracts and getting PAID. Instead of one club being able to afford that transfer fee now you have 5 teams that can afford your contract and get into a bidding war. Seems great for the player. F the club, they ain't loyal either For the record I made this comment before end of video

[@LukeDwornikComedy]

This channel is great, but never misses a chance to insult Spurs.

[@skorpion101382]

Since you're talking about Americanizing football: Luxury tax is one solution for both salary and total transfer amounts (transfer + all other payments related to the transfer). Bonuses paid throughout the season will be added to the clubs' "taxable" salary expenditure for next season. You can set it at 25% to be distributed to clubs that didn't go over the caps & proportionally from lowest to highest spender. This way the scumbag owners of city, psg & newcastle can still spend but there is an additional cost them but benefit to smaller clubs. FFP remains of course and the luxury tax is not exempt as either salary or transfer expense.

[@mafiousbj]

It just makes business sense for the players and the prospective team where they may move

[@EdHunts]

Was wondering if you knew about the plight of Bangor FC in the Welsh League? Was just reading about it and it sounds mental. Could make a good vid. Cheers for the great content 👍🏼

[@ftwsam2246]

In the U.S we call this Free agency, where the players finish their contract and sell their services to the highest bidder, although most free agents are towards the end of their careers in U.S sports, the teams love free agents because there's no trade/transfer fee and they don't have to sacrifice giving away other players.

[@louielouie95]

Video Request-What On Earth Is Going On At Saint-Etienne? The Club Was Relegated Along With Bordeaux And Metz From Ligue 1 And After Their Relegation, Fans Started A Riot Against The Players At The Stadium

[@chibifirestorm]

Transfer fees are ridiculous, more and more players' are gonna ask for release clauses now

[@alankenny21]

Because for the Top players, transfer fees are mental so only way to get a move is run contract down. In future you will see bets players signing max 3 year deal. Players also can ask for large signing on fees due to no transfer fee involved or a higher wage.

[@bendoonan4602]

Please do a video on Türkgücü München.The club was founded in Germany by Turkish Immigrants in the 70s and after making it's way to the 3rd division the club filed for bankruptcy.The club recently withdrew from the league.Most German football fans hate as far as I can see.A quick look through the Google reviews is all that's needed.

[@crazyboy98ish]

Its hated cause it was run by investors. And germans dont like that

[@donandres10]

@Alfie get this video done.

[@lucas_dr3]

Because it’s an investor club without any fans or infrastructure. They even wanted to move from munich to NRW (ruhrpott-area)

[@runningamok2825]

We call it testing the market in the USA sports leagues. I think it supports what you're saying perfectly about "running down the contract" and its negative implications.

[@jazzrockr]

There's also little talk that elsewhere, the one place where clubs could make a fortune fairly quickly is going away by virtue of clubs avoiding paying fees. The fees, by virtue of FIFA's rulesets and what have to be enforced by a number of CAS decisions elsewhere, are what keeps many clubs afloat elsewhere within their own country's pyramids or just as an institution outside of the pyramid by virtue of solidarity and training compensation payments. For as few players from academies that have modestly successful football careers, few are like Wesley Sneijder in this regard. The question is what happens to the rest of football as the institution as it is if the concentrated economic landscapes outside of the sport continue and financiers (and those without ties to producing actual things that generate wealth) continue to dominate the economic landscapes far away with less industrialization and less sustainment of competition in those arenas?

[@lazywallstreetnews7234]

I'm American, I'm not sure what a 'transfer' is. Is this like free agency or a franchise tag? American leagues have salary caps and other constraints to level the playing field that these leagues don't seem to have. So how does this work exactly? Does the team get the transfer fee or the player or do they split it? How does this work??

[@JD-hx7yd]

Team pays the fee to another team

[@jaydenfisherncfc]

AC Monza who you made a video on not too long ago have been promoted now

[@Asshat237]

As an American, I’ve wondered why it didn’t happen sooner. Why let your old team get a fee when you can get perhaps not the entire fee, but a significant portion of it for yourself?

[@JimiCanRead]

I haven’t finished the vid yet so maybe you talk about this, but my sense is that with the rate of player valuations going up, it’s reaching a bit of a ceiling. If grealish is worth £100m, who can afford whatever Salah is really worth (plus like you say, the large amount he and his agent will want to be paid).

[@astridlindholm1159]

its impossible to get a transfer with a good wage bill because of how expensive transfers have become. its very hard for a club to keep up with ffp, sign other players and fufill the wage demands of the player. its really hard to hit all 3, so its easier to just wait it out and players can reliably expect higher wages as they are more in demand and the club does not need to pay transfer fees this problem is only going to go away if transfer fees go down.

[@thegloriouspyrocheems2277]

Day 8 - The Fall and Rise of FK Velež Mostar From a Club that has beaten Borussia Dortmund, Twente, Derby County and many others to a club that was forced from their own stadium, reduced to nothing during the Bosnian War, becoming a mediocre top-level team in the 00s to nearly being forced into folding in 2016 to its amazing rise back to the top-level football which culminated in return to Europe after 33 years which has seen elimination of Coleraine before a suprising win over AEK Athens before exiting 3rd Round against Elfsborg IF and recently continuing in the Cup win this season which has ensured another European summer next season

[@marcusalford1750]

Hey Alfie 👋 next video Idea : 7 managers who revolutionised football clubs

[@ligerbeats6824]

How this video lasted 34 min is more shocking than Mbappe turning down Real Madrid...

[@1986fritzthecat]

With explosive growth of contracts, for the top elite athletes, it's almost always more rewarding to wait as late as possible

[@bipedalame]

My second favourite sport is the NFL( technically a league). Lamar Jackson of the Baltimore Ravens is letting his team happy rookie contract contract expire. Has no agent. Hope he wins

[@trevorjoneill707]

great topics

[@williamlee7672]

Never understand why clubs let players run down their contract. I would rather get a decent transfer fee than let a player leave for nothing. Dybala for example, should have been sold last season and get maybe 15-20 million back. If he had 2-3 years left, the fee could be 50-60 million or more. But anything is better than free.

[@NaZtRdAmUs]

For a second I thought I heard Kane's agent was on charlie and it still made sense to me.

[@xFooty76]

This is all depending on the attitude of the footballer who is running down his contract. If he's playing hard to the end of his contract good for him if you're just collecting wages until the next best thing comes in then as a club you should ask for a transfers fee.

[@louielouie95]

Video Request-Top 10 Big Football Clubs That Have Been Relegated

[@aries666dc]

Here's an alternative view on this whole contract running down topic; Look at it from the club's point of view. If you bought a player, gave him a substantial contract, after already paying a substantial amount to aquire him, you'd definitely look to gain back some of that transfer fee, regardless of the player performance. And, clubs usually build teams on project basis, so if a player wants to be part of that project, they have to commit there and then. If you wait for the end of your contract, then decide if you want to stay, the club may not want to put itself at risk of not having you in their plans, and since you as a player didnt accept a new deal before this, they can just move forward and sign another player to ensure the project is ongoing. Not to sound cliche, but the club is always bigger than the player. And lets be brutally honest, being tied down with a 100k a week contract for 2 years is nothing short of a luxury, you cant spin it around as if you are being held hostage and working for 20cents an hour in a refugee camp.

[@alexandervargas79]

Here's another view. U want Neymar but PSG won't let him go unless u pay them 150 mill. U talk to Neymar (Clubs can do this before a transfer fee is agreed upon) and he says he wants to leave for u guys. Instead of paying such a large fee, u wait till he has 6 months left and sign him for free. Also, Majority of the money coming into clubs is due to the players themselves, especially the big names. Players wage is about their value they bring to their club on and off the pitch.

[@ethandalton6480]

I can't wait for Alfie's 40 minute documentary on the European Super League in about 15 years time.

[@DrZaius3141]

I have a lot of respect for Harry Kane, because made a pretty smart choice. Sure, in hindsight he could have gotten more with a short contract and a cash-in later on, but a) any injury or drop of form completely destroys his potential and b) the value of money does not increase in a linear fashion. After fees and taxes he's probably set up with 30 mill. Unless you're a disney villain, that's far more than enough for any lifetime. The chance of getting twice as much will not change your standard of living, but the chance of getting only 20% of it due to an injury that might make the rest of your life less comfortable will change it.

[@nert-13]

Using a Ted Cruz pucture saying the Americans have got it right sends mixed messages my friend

[@fernandoalvarez9613]

This is the fact of life in American sports. And in Football it’s the result of the overvaluation of players and financial FairPlay capping Plastic clubs, free agency happens. And it gives more power to players who now will have. Ore than 2 or 3 clubs to sign with if they aren’t happy as a super club.

[@vaszi101]

13:57 blessing in disguise for everton because they would have definitely been hit by financial fair play (since they almost got hit this season)

[@RyuzakiTaiyou]

Best German players in the premier league of all time. (Day 329) I will not give up until the video is made or Alfie himself tells me to stop. Everyone else telling me that will be ignored. If you don't believe my number, just go back to the previous videos. I'm at the bottom most of the time, but I'm there.

[@arzhi_azis]

Day 267: Indonesia XI If All Eligible Players Had Declared For Them.

[@hi-rr2vm]

Keep dreaming bocah

[@toggerz7487]

Would it make sense for clubs to offer release clauses when extending a contract. Even taking a low fee is still better than getting nothing. If Liverpool had to offer a relatively low release clause for Salah, say 20 - 30 million, way less than he's worth, it would offer some flexibility in the sense of him knowing that it isn't going to be that difficult to get a top club to pay that. It might not be great for Liverpool to lose Salah for 20 million, but that's better tham losing him for nothing, and on top of that they keep him playing for them, even if only for a little longer.

[@johnmitchell2269]

Agents are telling players to not sign new deals until they have just 12 months left on their contracts. This is because both player and agent know they can hold clubs to ransom in that scenario. Because clearly clubs don't want to lose players for nothing. So when a player is in his final year, if the club wants them to renew, the agent and player hold all the cards and can make big demands.

[@12thMandalorian]

We need contracts where there are clauses for injury, where you get reduced pay