Transfer

The elaborate social media campaigns clubs use to unveil new signings. What used to be a press photo and statement is now a cinematic production with teasers, cryptic posts, drone footage, and celebrity cameos. Marketing departments compete to make announcements go viral. Fans complain about it but engage with it anyway. Some announcements now take weeks of buildup.

Money paid to agents for facilitating transfers or contract renewals. Can be enormous - sometimes tens of millions for a single deal. Agents get paid by clubs, players, or both. The fees have grown so large that clubs and FIFA have tried to regulate them. Super-agents like Jorge Mendes and the late Mino Raiola built empires on these commissions.

A clause giving the selling club a percentage of any future transfer fee. If you sell a player for £10m with a 20% sell-on, and they're later sold for £50m, you get £8m (20% of the £40m profit). Smart for clubs who develop young players - you benefit from their continued success even after they leave. Can complicate future deals though.

A large group of players owned by one club but loaned out to others, sometimes dozens at a time. Chelsea at their peak had 40+ players out on loan. The logic: develop youngsters, maintain asset value, collect loan fees, maybe find a gem. Critics say it hoards talent and blocks pathways at other clubs. New rules have been introduced to limit it.