Why do European/International soccer teams “buyout” their players’ contracts for so much more than any team actually pays the player, & why does TeamA send that buyout money directly to TeamB instead of the player himself? In the NBA (US), “buyouts” are for fractions, not multiples.

Question

Why do European/International soccer teams “buyout” their players’ contracts for so much more than any team actually pays the player, & why does TeamA send that buyout money directly to TeamB instead of the player himself? In the NBA (US), “buyouts” are for fractions, not multiples.

In: Economics