Finance guru: ‘Big changes’ on the horizon for Man City amid £167m agent reveal
FIFA’s planned legislation to reign in the power of agents will reduce costs for the likes of Man City.
That is the view of finance expert Doctor Dan Plumley, speaking exclusively to Football Insider about the “big changes” in the pipeline for football intermediaries.
FIFA published their annual review of agent spending last Thursday (15 December).
The 23-page document details a near-return to pre-pandemic levels of outlay from clubs, with Premier League clubs alone paying £167million to middlemen in 2022.
That figure is almost three times what clubs from nearest challengers Italy spent in the same department.
City’s expenditure is not revealed in the dossier, but the reigning Premier League champions are believed to have paid £34m in agent fees for blockbuster summer addition Erling Haaland.
World football’s governing body is currently angling to introduce a new 10 per cent cap on the amount an intermediary is able to trouser from a transfer deal.
This could see agent fees fall of a cliff in the near future, forecasts Plumley.
“The big caveat here is the rules FIFA want to introduce on agents,” the Sheffield Hallam University expert told Football Insider’s Adam Williams
“Everything points to those rules lowering the cost of agent fees which will lower the costs for clubs. We will see big changes whenever that comes to pass.
“The spending is sustainable when the revenue is there to do it. That links to broadcasting, commercial and matchday income as well.
“Clubs will always want to pay less but with the way the market is at the moment, you have to engage with agents to get the best talent. That comes at a high price.
“It’s sustainable as long as the money is coming in but the new FIFA regulations is the biggest sticking point here.“
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