By David Gold
December 28 – Barcelona President Sandro Rosell wants UEFA to reform agents’ fees and says that players should themselves cover such costs.
Speaking in Dubai, Rosell said: “I have always asked myself, when an agent is representing a player and he comes to negotiate his contract with the club, why is the club paying the agency fees?
“When he is defending the other party and what he wants is to get the maximum number for the other party and, at the end, you have to pay the commission to the agent, it doesn’t make sense.
“This is something I would ask UEFA to change as a rule.”
Agents have long been criticised for taking money out of the sport.
Europe’s top teams spend millions each year in agents’ fees, making them an increasingly significant part of club balance sheets.
FIFA is keen to limit the earnings agents can take from transfers, having originally outlined plans to tackle the issue last year.
They hope to restrict the amount an agent can make to three per cent of a transfer fee.
UEFA general secretary Gianni Infantino said that he agreed with Rossell that players, rather than clubs, should be paying agents: “If you go to the hairdressers, you don’t send your employer to pay the bill.”
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