Is Player Power Ruining Football for Fans?
For around the first 100 years of their existence professional footballers were treated much like workers in other industries. The employers held most of the cards and players received a rough deal. They had barely adequate pay, lacked influence and no real freedom of movement.
Dickensian football club chairmen treated sportsmen like servants, simply indefensibly. The present anarchy is just as indefensible.
It is now 50 years since the maximum weekly wage for footballers was set at £20. This was £5 more than the then average industrial weekly wage. How things have changed! The boot is well and truly on the other foot, player power is the only power.
Normally a contract is a binding agreement between two parties for performing a specified act in exchange for payment. There is nothing binding about a footballer’s contract. It’s a meaningless piece of paper. The only purpose it serves in practice is to increase the transfer fee when the player, ably supported by his agent, decides to break the contract.
Players’ rights are infinite. If they wish they can insist on sticking to the letter and length of their contract being respected. We’ve had multi-millionaire players who prefer to sit on the bench for years and collect a fortune rather than be transferred. Others choose to see out their contract and leave to stuff their already full pockets ‘on a Bosman’.
If a player decides to break his contract and move on – to play in Europe, to the club of his dreams, to experience football in another country, to be closer to his family, to be in a more pleasant city or whatever – the Club can nothing other than sell the player. Some of these may be legitimate reasons but usually they are pure nonsense, a transparent excuse for wanting even more money.
So why the surprise because one of the very best players in the world wants to leave the club that was Europe’s most successful last season? Despite Ferguson’s understandable protestations and threats, Ronaldo will have his way. Like all of his star professional colleagues he is a mercenary pure and simple. Concepts like loyalty and respecting legal obligations cut no ice.
The harsh reality is that fans need to come to terms with the fact that we support players primarily motivated by monetary gain and who don’t give a toss for the badge on the shirt.
Written by Tony Schneider, originally published at 4sportsake.com.
truth. which is why its so amazing in today’s game to see players that do care about the badge. the homegrown kids of united in the 90s, still playing today. the youngsters at tottenham have the potential, but would need a strong willed manager, and the ability to win trophies for it to be a real possibility.
does ronaldo deserve to go to real madrid? yes. no united fan thought he would see out his career with us. but do we feel hard done by the stupidity of the whole thing? the constant games and the vague answers? yes. come out and say your staying. come out and say your leaving. its bollocks otherwise.
Let’s be honest, the only reason players can get away with this stuff is because the clubs allow it. Here is what will diminish the player power–Clubs getting two types of provisions in the contract:
1. A “mercenary” clause. Requests by the player to transfer results in the player forfeiting some percentage of pay at the new club to the old club. So let’s say Ronaldo goes to Real Madrid at gets paid 300K pounds a week, then in a similar situation, the player forfeits say 15% of his weekly pay for the number of years left on the contract he abandoned. So if a player leaves with 1 year left on his contract, his old club would get 15% of his new base salary at his new club. This won’t stop the transfer requests, but it increases the financial penalty.
2. The Finish Your Contract Clause. If a player requests a transfer, the club can deny the request and if the player wants to not play out his contract, you cut his pay to some minimum amount and then pay for play. If the player becomes a dressing room drag, then he can only get paid by making certain performance markers, i.e. appearances, making the dress squad, number of minutes, etc. This keeps the player honest if he is denied a transfer request. It also makes him play hard to keep his profile up and his transfer fee up.
In time, the power of the player in the transfer market will be diminished over time.
Matt, I like your ideas. Solid comment.
Matt, I also like some of your thoughts, but I also believe them to be a little naive, unfortunately. If a team tries to implement clauses like that in their contract, players simply won’t sign with them. Example: ManU tries that with Ronaldo when he first signed with them. Ronaldo thinks, “I’ve always wanted to play for Real, and these clauses in this ManU contract could make that a pain to pull off when I’m ready. You know, I could probably get the same amount of money from Chelsea, Arsenal, Team X, Team Y, Team Z, etc., and find a contract where they don’t have those clauses. Sorry ManU, I think I’ll look elsewhere.”
Unless every club starting using the same clauses in all of their contracts there is always going to be a more attractive club for a player to go to in terms of contract. The players have the power, b/c without them no one else involved in the club makes a living and the reason they are able to play at the level they are playing is b/c they were born with a god given talent that is hard to come by. Simple supply and demand. Top players have a talent that is in high demand, but with a limited supply.
When it comes down to it, ManU needs Ronaldo more than Ronaldo needs ManU. ManU will have a hell of a time finding a player as talented as Ronaldo. Ronaldo could easily get a ludicrously high paying contract with any number of top clubs in a heartbeat.
All that being said, I think many professional atheletes are selfish prats, and should be more bound to their contracts. Unfortunately, I just don’t see your suggestions working.
Y should the players be punished for being good at what he does. Would any of u people like it if ur boss told u that u could not leave the company and take a better paying job, that is rubbish. If a player want to leave, let him leave its all apart of the game. I have experienced it in recent times as a supporter of the greatest club in the world…Bayern Munich. We lost Hargreaves and ballack and I am still a big supporter of both because I know it’s all apart of the game. We do it to other clubs too so we are not only victims sometimes we r villains. It doesn’t ruin the game one bit for me because I know it’s apart of the cycle of football.
Why should a player from Portugal have an emotional attachment to a team in England?
The reasons that he chose Manchester United were because of increased visibility and pay. The reasons that he is choosing Real Madrid now is because of increased visibility and pay.
It’s acceptable when it works for you, but not when it works against you.
honestly 2 good arguments no. 5 & 6.
contracts cannot mean bondage. and yea players should be free to play with whomever they like (provided that club also likes them). The notions of one club being big or bigger than other is mostly there in minds of supporters of clubs like utd or real (the more successful ones in winning trophies). but what do you guys think were everton fans happy to see rooney go? clubs purchase players all the time and players move all the time. whats the point in whining? The best thing to do is to say a polite word of thanks to the player for his services, set a price for him (howsoever incredulous) and just get on with it…
BTW I am a manchester united fan!
Gentleman, you’re missing the point. Note the definition of the word contract. Legally binding contract enforceable by law. The problem is that players sign a five-year contract and then leave after a year. That’s a breach of contract. Bayern, read the contract you signed with your employer and I’m willing to bet you’ll find a clause in there that says either party can terminate the contract at any time for any reason, and your contract with your employer probably doesn’t have a time period placed on it.
Main Entry:1 con·tract
Pronunciation:
\ˈkän-ˌtrakt\
Function:
noun
1 a: a binding agreement between two or more persons or parties; especially : one legally enforceable b: a business arrangement for the supply of goods or services at a fixed price c: the act of marriage or an agreement to marry2: a document describing the terms of a contract3: the final bid to win a specified number of tricks in bridge4: an order or arrangement for a hired assassin to kill someone
Erik,there’s a thing known as compensation. For example,if im this hot shot bussiness executive and the company really wants me and gives me a lucrative contract and then they find that I’m not good enough they release me and pay me compensation according to the contract.Same goes for me and same in in football
When a player wants to leave a club, he can just sit down and refuse to play.The club gets a large amount of money in case he transfers, or well,if they are not able to negotiate a transfer fee, the player has no choice but too play for the club. For eg.if ronaldo refuses to play and fergie refuses to sell..ronaldo will just sit on the bench and with time his value will drop, and perhaps his suitors too.Same if he doesnt play to the best of his potential He wont want that. Example, look at nigel de jong.He was one of the most highly rated youngsters some time ago, and now he’s nowhere
You can’t really blame for wanting money.It’s because of society, and not because of modern football. The player might get injured or might end his career next season. What then?
And one more thing, it’s not all about player power.Remember Adrian Mutu and Chelsea?The poor guy has to pay compensation of about 6 million to chelsea and when you look at it actually, it was the club that refused to support him.
Two things to add about contracts.
1 Marriage is a contract – but you’re not going to tell me you want to ban divorce?
2 A contract is no good unless both parties are getting enough of what they need. – No point keeping any player if they want to be off, they can stay and fulfill the terms and play like a donkey – won’t get you anywhere.
The point was made above – every club does it, and the days of bringing someone up through the academy and keeping them are over, unless you are a man u or a chelsea and they want to stay.