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The Gaffer
@the_gaffer
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Definitions by The Gaffer
Public statements and newspaper rumours coming from agents. Agent talk is designed to put pressure on clubs over player contracts or potential transfers. It usually involves saying the player is "disappointed" and mentions "interest from other clubs". This can work to create fan pressure to force the club to give a player a new, bigger contract, or it can backfire and led to a player looking greedy or disloyal. Super agent Mino Raiola was the master of agent talk.
Every couple of years during his time at Liverpool, Mohamed Salah's agent Ramy Abbas, lets out statements to stir up controversy and confuse matters. It usually happens on international duty with Egypt when the comments can be put down to 'mistranslation' back to the English press. It's worked, giving Salah a bigger contract every time until his decision to leave Liverpool at the end of the 2025/26 season.
The money paid to agents for facilitating transfers for players between clubs or contract renewals at their current club. Agent fees 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.
Mino Raiola reportedly earned over €20 million in fees for Paul Pogba's €105 transfer to Manchester United in 2016 - a sum that highlighted how much money flows to intermediaries in major transfers.
A player who spends their whole career at one club. Rare now because the transfer market moves everyone around every few years. When it happens, the player becomes a club legend and symbol of loyalty. Jamie Carragher might have grown up an Everton fan but he came through Liverpool's youth ranks and played 737 times for the reds in a one club career.