An end to the excesses of football should start with agents’ obscene fees

FOR a Premier League footballer, or any elite footballer for that matter, a good agent is worth his or her weight in gold. Probably quite literally. Ask Cedric at Arsenal. At least, we believe he is at Arsenal, and is not just a rumour with a new longterm contract.

Capped 33 times

Joorabchian, has played an absolute blinder for his man, just as he has for David Luiz.

How could Arsenal do anything less for the likeable Luiz (left) than award him another year of £120,000-a-week wages after THAT cameo against Manchester City last week?

If they needed any persuading, Joorabchian (right) obviously did the trick. And, presumably, was paid a hefty fee for his troubles.

Before lockdown, the fees earned by agents through Premier League transactions, between January 31, 2019 and February 1, 2020, were totted up by the FA and came to £263.4m.

The previous year, it was just over £260m.

Throw in payments from EFL clubs and agents have taken HALF A BILLION pounds out of the English game in two years.

And there is barely an eyebrow raised. Lower league clubs are facing extinction if the financial meltdown post-covid-19 is as grim as expected.

And the big clubs are forking out king’s ransoms to go-betweens.

Liverpool’s outlay on transfer fees for the period of the FA’S figures was less than £10m. Their outlay on intermediaries? Over £30m. Go figure.

Assembling and blending a squad as formidable and wonderful as Liverpool’s takes ingenuity, inspiration

Joorabchian has played an absolute blinder for his man, as he has for Luiz

and mighty hard work. You also have to look after the middle men.

Over two years, Liverpool have done that to the tune of £74m. There won’t be a sugary slogan about that.

For years, the governing bodies have made noises about curbing the excessive earnings and influence of agents who are super mainly for their own bank balances. But there has been nothing of any significance done.

There is barely a ripple of discontent amongst the rank and file fan because there is this notion that the money comes from clubs’ commercial and TV deals. Whether it be through subscriptions or buying overpriced gear advertised by your club, it always, in the end, comes from you.

Up to now, it has not seemed to matter.

If an agent has to be paid extravagantly for a player who might improve your team, then fine, so be it.

But when clubs are going to the wall, when families are trying to make ends meet, when hardship grips the common fan, let’s see how an annual £263m to football’s dealmakers sits then. It has been said and repeated that professional football will have to take a long, hard look at itself and its financial excesses when it emerges from this pandemic.

The obscenity of agents’ earnings would be a good place to start.