The "Dark Ages" of Football

Like the ball with which it is played, football is on a roll. It's the sport that has embraced the global community, where agents have a major stake in the footballing world. Football is a global business.

“Can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em”, is the global view on football agents.

The transfer market involves who went where, and for how much. But it’s the agents that are behind the deal.

A football agent is a person who negotiates the employment and endorsements deals for a footballer. In turn, the agent receives a commission that is usually between ten and twelve percent of the contract, although this figure varies.

In addition, the agent often handles public relations matters for his or her client. Examples of some of the largest sports agencies in the world are IMG and Octagon.

Agents can deal with all aspects of an athlete's finances, from investment to filing taxes. But, the only thing I’m interested in at this stage is the dealings with players transfers.

Football has become a magnet for the new entertainment-hungry media, eager to exploit a vast audience. Money was pouring into the game in the 1990’s, as the figures showed. There was a steady surge in revenues, allowing clubs to lure some of the finest names in the world.

The salaries are not the sole reasons for these players to be interested in a club, but it is true that "money is what makes the world go round". Money may not be the root of all evil, but its ability to persuade is becoming very apparent.

These are the “Dark Ages” for football. Currently undergoing something of a financial crisis, clubs across Britain, Europe and South America are losing money, making redundancies and, in some cases, going out of business entirely.

Much of the blame for this situation has been targeted at the increasing wage demands made by players during the 1990s. This phenomenon has, in turn, been attributed to the growing influence of players' agents, encouraging players to demand inflated salaries so that their own percentage fee rises.

The transfer market is a game where the rich get richer, because they can afford the high-priced players that attract the fans and investors. Many of the rest dig deep into debt as they seek to emulate that strategy, gambling that their hired superstar will lift them into the top bracket.

So, is there any hope for the smaller clubs? Well, homegrown talent is the best way to go, but soon they too will be persuaded to sell their talented players to the big boys at the top—as was the case with highly talented Southampton FC and England youth player, Theo Walcott, who moved to Arsenal for an astronomical amount.

Why is it that the top players earn so much and are sold on the transfer market for ridiculous prices? The players’ response is that their careers are short, and ask why they shouldn't earn as much as other entertainers, such as actors.

Another theory is that footballers do not know any other trade, as they would have started their working careers fresh from high school and going back to school at the age of over 35 seems a little ridiculous.

But does that justify the price tag of 45.62 million pounds for French midfield genius, Zinedine Zidane, in his world record transfer from Juventus to Real Madrid in 2001?

How much of a part did his agent play in the persuasion of the deal?

Football has become a big business. What’s wrong with clubs milking their own worth like any other business? In this world we talking about big money for top players, and these are just normal human beings like you and I.

But they go to work on a football pitch, bring home goals for a living, have gigantic piggy banks, and love every minute of it.

Wouldn’t you? I know I would.

If everything that has been said or written about agents were true, each and every one of them would be a parasite with criminal tendencies and a willingness to sell not only their own grandmothers, but to break into old people's homes in order to steal other people's grandmothers and sell them, too.

But surely they can't be all that bad?

Welcome to the “Dark Ages” for football.