Sport economist Thomas Peeters: ‘The big money is shifting in football’

The reason for the possible new regulation is a ruling by the European Court of Justice in a case brought by former footballer Lassana Diarra. The Court ruled that the current transfer regulations do not comply with labour and competition law. The problem lies in the often skewed ratio between a player’s salary and their release clause. For Dutch clubs, these buyout fees often form an important revenue model: they develop talent or buy players cheaply from smaller leagues in order to sell them on at a profit to richer clubs in the major competitions, such as in England and Spain.

Impact of new transfer rules smaller than expected

Sport economist Thomas Peeters emphasises that the impact on Dutch clubs is probably smaller than thought. Foreign top clubs often buy players a little too early, for example at the age of 22, because at a later age they are more expensive or more difficult to sign. These players then regularly end up on the bench or are loaned out while awaiting their development. If transfer fees decrease, the incentive for this early buying will partly disappear.

Moreover, it is mainly the larger Dutch clubs that profit from the buying and selling of players; smaller clubs earn considerably less from it. Whether the abolition or limitation of transfer fees will lead to a more level playing field, Peeters finds difficult to predict.

He states: ‘The big money in football will not disappear.’ Clubs have relatively few other major expenditure items: besides stadium costs and marketing, the largest part of the revenue, some 60 to 70 per cent, goes to players’ salaries. If transfer income falls away, that budget will simply shift. ‘It is more a transition from transfer fees to wages,’ Peeters says.