Arsenal
Aston Villa
Chelsea
Crystal Palace
Everton
Fulham
Leeds United
Liverpool
Manchester City
Manchester United
Newcastle United
Nottingham Forest
Southampton
Tottenham Hotspur
West Ham United
Wolverhampton Wanderers
News
Declan Rice’s Arsenal transfer broker cites Sir Alex Ferguson as he debunks player power myth
One of the key figures behind Declan Rice’s blockbuster move to Arsenal has rubbished one of the football industry’s biggest myths.
Rice’s move from West Ham to Arsenal for north of £100m last summer was one of the longest-running transfer sagas in recent years.
There was seemingly endless back-and-forth between the clubs and, significantly, the agents.
One of the figures heavily involved in that deal was Daniel Geey, a sports lawyer and associate of Rice‘s.
There is a great deal of mutual respect between the pair – Rice even penned the foreword for Geey’s latest book, 50 Ways into Football.
And Geey, who works at leading law rim Sheridans, has dispelled what he believes is a complete misnomer about the football transfers and wage negotiations.
He cited Man United legend Sir Alex Ferguson‘s approach as a key reason that agents are an absolutely necessary foil for clubs.
Player power is a myth, says expert behind Rice deal
Speaking on the podcast, Geey insisted that the concept of ‘player power’ is overstated and that it is clubs that still have the upper hand in football.
“I’m slightly conflicted because I work with a lot of agents as my clients so I’m not going to denigrate them too much,” he told hosts Mark Chapman and Gabby Logan.
“But just like a lot of players get a bad rep, loyalty in football is a very odd concept.
“I always think when clubs want to sell the players because they’re ‘over the hill’ or ‘they cost too much,’ it’s seen as an annoying player not wanting to leave the club.
“But when a player is in a strong position, they’ll see that they have two contracts left and that amount of money has to last for themselves and their family for the next 40 or 50 years, maybe it’s time to maximize the earnings.
“Like anything, the football industry is fragile. But a player’s career is extremely fragile—a bad manager they don’t get on with, a bad turn that does their ACL.
“Agents get a bad rep. People think they make two phone calls and get £10m or £15m. I can say that is absolutely not the case.
“Everybody says agents are taking the money out of the game. I would say it’s pretty nuanced and it’s important to have that counterbalance against the club.
“You hear stories of Alex Ferguson pulling in youngsters, saying: ‘Oh, just sign this, you don’t need an agent.’
“The truth is that this is the counterbalance that a lot of players absolutely need to understand their value and when it’s time to play bad cop against the club.
“I’m still of the view that whoever controls the money controls the power. Lots of clubs have lots of different options. Some very few players, the 0.1 per cent, have the power.
“But on the whole, the clubs hold the power and, if they say they don’t, which you’d expect, my view is that there will always be an alternative for players if their agent is being unreasonable.
“That’s what the agents are always worried about.”
- READ MORE FOOTBALL FINANCE ANALYSIS: Arsenal primed for windfall as £133m deal agreed by key corporate ally
How much do Arsenal spend on agents and could it impact their PSR position?
According to official data from the FA, Arsenal spent £16.75m on agents in 2022-23, the last season for which statistics are available.
This was relatively low compared to most of their peers in the so-called Big Six.
North London rivals were the only club in that group to spend less on intermediaries, shelling out £16.1m.
Man United spent £24.7m, Liverpool £33.7m, Chelsea £43.2m, and Man City £51.6m.
These are classed as recruitment expenditure and therefore count towards Arsenal’s Profit and Sustainability Rules (formerly financial air play, or FFP) calculation.
However, Arsenal are in a relatively stable position thanks to their return to the lucrative Champions League last season, as well as an uptick in matchday income and commercial revenue.
They are comfortable as far as their PSR status is confirmed.