SOCCER SENSATION
German league keen on Davies
In the other pro sports in Canada, fans follow a trade that can be done in a minute on the floor at the NHL entry draft, or in an hour at a Toronto airport hotel, after Montreal Alouettes GM Kavis Reed arrived from Calgary to acquire quarterback Johnny Manziel from the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
But there’s a deal in the works right now like no other in the history of soccer in North America that’s fascinating to follow as it goes down.
When it finally does go down, it will be nothing short of a monumental moment in the history of soccer in Canada, and especially in Edmonton.
A 17-year-old City of Champions soccer product clearly is on the verge of inspiring the largest single transfer fee in the history of Major League Soccer.
German giant Bayern Munich is looking to complete a deal with the Vancouver Whitecaps for a projected US$12 million to transfer the player’s registration rights of Alphonso Davies to play in Germany’s Premier Bundesliga soccer league.
With every day it gets more interesting.
According to Christian Falk of Sport Bild in Germany, the Whitecaps are looking for up to $6 million more, which would make it US$18 million in extra bonuses, plus 15 per cent in future transfer fees involving Davies.
Interesting figure: $18 million. That’s the dollar figure involved when Edmonton Oilers owner Peter Pocklington traded Wayne Gretzky to the Los Angeles Kings some 30 years ago.
Transfer payments aren’t always made public, but it’s believed that the MLS record was set in 2008 when New York Red Bulls sold Jozy Altidore (now of Toronto FC) to Spanish La Liga side Villarreal for a reported US$10 million.
To put it in perspective, based on numbers released by the MLS Players Association, the Whitecaps guaranteed compensation as a team this year is $8.2 million.
Davies will bring back a season and a half of salary, perhaps as much a two seasons, if there are significant performance clauses involved.
When a player is transferred, their old contract is terminated and they’re free to negotiate a new deal. Davies, just named as the only Whitecaps player to the MLS All- Star Game, was making $72,500 a year with the Whitecaps.
The Whitecaps official response so far has been to say: “Alphonso Davies is not playing with the club’s permission. The club will provide an update with any further details when relevant.”
After a loss in Seattle on Saturday, coach Carl Robinson added only this: “I think you’ll read a little bit more news in the coming day or two, but obviously, it’s a positive for him and us.”
What a story this kid has become as he sits in limbo, waiting to find out when he’ll have to catch a Lufthansa flight to Bavaria.
Born in a refuge camp in Ghana, Davies moved to Canada as a preschooler after his family fled Liberia. He joined the FC Edmonton Academy and even played one game before the Whitecaps recruited him to Vancouver. He’s committed to play internationally for Canada and was an eloquent leadoff speaker for the Canada-USA-Mexico 2026 FIFA World Cup bid earlier in Moscow.
What will The Davies Effect mean in Edmonton?
“It’s great for Edmonton, it’s great for Alberta, it’s great for Canada, and it should result in more people coming out and watching soccer games,” said FC Edmonton owner Tom Fath. “He’s an Edmonton player, so that increases the interest in Edmonton. It will also, I expect, increase the interest in our players, in general, because Edmonton will be on the radar.
“It’s exciting for Davies. It’s exciting for Canada. And it’s exciting for our new Canadian Premier League. The fundamental reason behind there being a Canadian Premier League is to give more Canadians an opportunity to play and develop into being world-class players.”
Fath understands a big number like $12 million. That’s in the ballpark of the amount he’s dropped fielding his team in the North American Soccer League until now.
Next year, the team will begin play in the eight-team Canadian Premier League.
Unfortunately, Davies wasn’t ever signed to an FC Edmonton contract before he moved on to the Whitecaps, so Fath’s franchise won’t be in for 15 per cent of the franchise fee. But down the road, with other players produced, who knows?
“More than anything, it’s a big compliment to the various soccer groups in Edmonton. It’s huge,” said the owner.