Transfer (association football)

As such, the transfer fee functions as financial compensation (paid to the club which possesses the existing playing rights) for the early mutually agreed termination of the contract of a professional football player.

[10] In 1999, Steve McManaman departed his boyhood club Liverpool for Real Madrid,[11] while Sol Campbell was arguably the most controversial Bosman transfer of all-time when in 2001, he moved from Tottenham Hotspur to local fierce rivals Arsenal.

In 2014, it was announced Borussia Dortmund striker Robert Lewandowski would leave the club for league rivals Bayern Munich in the upcoming summer when his contract expired.

[18] FIFA noted it was "disappointed" in the ruling,[19] while Gordon Taylor thought the decision would have a major impact and would "lead to a flood of foreign players... to the detriment of our game".

[30] Professional Footballers' Association chairman Gordon Taylor was critical of the change, fearing the new system would "erode the sporting and competitive element of the game".

[31] In February 2004, Newcastle United allowed striker Lomana LuaLua to move on loan to fellow Premier League club Portsmouth for three months for a £100,000 fee.

[38] In 2013, Football League clubs voted unanimously to close a "ludicrous" loophole which had allowed Watford to loan 14 players from abroad, including ten from Udinese.

[39][40] On transfer deadline day in August 2006, West Ham United pulled off what was described as a "major coup" by signing Argentina World Cup stars Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano from Corinthians.

The UEFA Executive Committee has already adopted a position on this issue in principle, and we will see this through," also adding it is a "danger to our sport" and "threatens the integrity of our competitions, damages football's image, poses a long-term threat to clubs' finances and even raises questions about human dignity".

[98] In December 2011, ahead of the 2011 FIFA Club World Cup Final, it was reported that Barcelona had paid Santos a €10 million instalment for the guaranteed future transfer of Neymar at any point until 2014.

[101] A year later, his father again spoke of a possible transfer for his son, saying he would leave Santos after the 2014 FIFA World Cup, taking place in Brazil, and that Barcelona was the "best path".

[111][112] Moreno threatened legal action to those privy to the inside knowledge of the transfer deal, saying, "I am going to wait one more week and then I will open a case in court to get access to the information.

[138] Writing for the BBC, Matt Slater said that "professional footballers do not enjoy the same freedoms that almost every other EU worker does",[141] and that "players look at US sport, and wonder why their career prospects are still constrained by transfer fees and compensation costs".

[140] In 2017, FIFPro agreed to drop the legal challenge after they came to an understanding with FIFA, signing a six-year agreement to improve governance of transfers and conduct a review of the current system.

Amidst a high level of publicity, the two clubs had agreed a fee of £177,000, a then record for Leeds United; but a medical examination found Hartford had a pin-sized hole in his heart, a slight defect he had been born with but had never impacted the progression of his career.

[158] Van Nistelrooy was to be unveiled at a press conference four days later, but instead this was used to announce the transfer had been postponed over concerns about his fitness; he had not played for a month due to problems with his knee.

[159] The transfer was then cancelled after PSV would not agree to further medical tests,[160][161] and the next day, he ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his knee during a training session, leaving him injured for a year.

[164] Throughout 2000, Wimbledon striker John Hartson's proposed multimillion-pound moves to Tottenham Hotspur,[165] Rangers[166] and Charlton Athletic[167] all fell through after he failed medicals at each club.

[180] On transfer deadline in January 2013, Nottingham Forest were attempting to sign George Boyd from Peterborough United when it collapsed due to an inconclusive eye test.

[181] Boyd later signed for Hull City in February,[182] and subsequently scored against Forest in a fixture in March and mocked them with a celebration whereby he used his fingers to make fake glasses.

[184] The first player to ever be transferred for a fee of over £100 was Scottish striker Willie Groves when he made the switch from West Bromwich Albion to Aston Villa in 1893,[185] eight years after the legalisation of professionalism in the sport.

This was during a time when transfer fees were rapidly growing in English football, and the £1.5 million mark was finally reached in 1981 when Manchester United signed Bryan Robson from West Bromwich Albion.

However, fees well in excess of £2 million had already been paid to English clubs by Barcelona, who had signed Mark Hughes from Manchester United and Gary Lineker from Everton in 1986.

Performance-related clauses have become more common in recent years, meaning that it is harder to produce definitive lists of the largest transfer fees than was the case in the past.

[223] FIFA's Dispute Resolution body ruled that due to the extensive provisions and signatures on the exchanged documents, a legally binding contract had been entered into, and awarded €330,000 to Robak in compensation.

In 2005 Italian team Roma were given a one-year transfer ban by FIFA, beginning on 1 July, when in September 2004, French centre back Philippe Mexès joined the club while still contracted with Auxerre.

[270] In February 2012 English team Port Vale received a transfer embargo due to an unpaid bill, which meant that the signing of ex-Vale player Chris Birchall could not be completed.

[284] In 2013 English team Watford received a five-month transfer ban for breaching football rules during the period from September 2011 until former owner Laurence Bassini sold the club to Giampaolo Pozzo in June 2012.

Watford and Bassini were found guilty of failing to inform the football authorities about financial agreements set up with a company called LNOC, in particular their role in the transfer of Danny Graham to Swansea City.

In 2013 French team Nantes received a ban lasting two transfer windows after breaking rules over the 2012 signing of striker Ismaël Bangoura from Emirati club Al Nasr.