There have been a lot of moves this summer and there’s currently a lot of drama about where Mbappe and Kane are going to end up, and I don’t understand how the transfer fees work or why players can reject transfers
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I wrote this in a similar thread a couple days ago:
So, it’s closest to baseball in the old days.
Just a couple ground points: All contracts are guaranteed, they cannot be transferred or traded. When contracts are over, players can leave as a free agent (this was not the case before 1992. American baseball used to be similar.)
So, a player may sign a contract for 5 years. That player then registers with their team and plays the year. At the end of the year, a bigger and richer team may be interested in that player. The interested team must contact the contracted team directly (not the player first, if they do, it’s illegal and it’s called “tapping up”). The contracted team will tell them if they are interested in selling the player, or to go pound sand. If they are willing, they will agree a price that the interested team must pay in order to begin negotiating. This is the transfer fee. The transfer fee is basically the price that the contracted club wishes to receive in order to void the contract with the player. It is a balance between what they believe the player is worth on the open market, and the value they expect to receive from the player over the life of his contract.
If the teams agree to a transfer fee, the interested club will enter into negotiations with the player and his agent. They will have to agree to contract terms at the new club. This is completely separate from the transfer fee discussion with the club. If the player doesn’t want to move, the transfer breaks down and he will stay at his contracted club at the same terms.
There are instances on both sides where either the contracted club won’t let a player who wants to go leave below a certain price (Harry Kane at Tottenham, for instance), or a player who doesn’t want to leave his contract to make less money elsewhere (Wayne Bridge at Man City refused to leave and was making $90k/week to play in the reserves).
All of these must happen in two months during the summer, or one month during the winter – more or less (and each league has a slightly different window. Yes this sometimes causes problems like if one player leaves and the team can’t find a replacement).
Loans, are sort of what they sound like. Usually these are for players (often younger players) who are struggling to break through into the first team. A loan is a short term agreement (couple weeks to 2 years) for a player to remain contracted to his current team, but to go play for another team. The player receives the same pay that is in his contract. The Loaner club and the Loanee will negotiate who will pay for the player, or if they will split it. That will depend on the circumstances.
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