FIFA are in la-la land

FIFA say they want to modernise the transfer market and regulate agents but I can tell you that their plans are being drafted by people who have never represented a footballer in their lives and have no understanding of how our industry functions.

The Association of Football Agents have been sent a third draft of FIFA’s proposals but it’s based on a second draft that was completely unacceptable. We have suggested a consultation meeting with FIFA, with every aspect of their changes on the table and up for negotiation. But they won’t agree to it.

The notion of capping agent fees at a specific level or percentage is ridiculous and uncompetitive. If an agent is helping a club to sell or buy a player and all parties are happy to freely bargain on the commission, what is wrong with that?

Look at talent management in any other part of the entertainment industry and see how it works. Nobody in the movie industry is saying an agent cannot have 15 per cent of a deal if he gets his client a big-money role.

And in my experience football agents generally charge nowhere near that. I’ve always charged my clients five per cent of their basic guaranteed salary for negotiating their contracts and doing everything else involved in helping their careers.

As for this idea of a clearing house, the FA in England have a clearing house for transfers and it’s not exactly efficient so why do you think a global clearing house will be better? It’s a joke. And some of the methods of calculation being proposed [for payments to training clubs] are absurd. It’s the stuff of la-la land.