Reviewing Daniel Geey's 'Done Deal': An Insider's Guide to the Law and Business of Football
- Harry Greaves
- May 3, 2021
- 6 min read
In recent times, with the nation stuck under lockdown, the return of football in June 2020 was the perfect lift on a rather dampened year. Despite the game’s absence, there were social media debates surrounding footballers’ wages, and about whether some clubs were right or wrong to use the furlough scheme, a debate which led to Liverpool removing themselves from the Government’s furlough scheme and instead supplying their employees on furlough with the 80% of their wages themselves. In a time when the financial side of football was being scrutinised, during the absence of the game itself, my interest in sports law and business was sparked.
Recently I have read Daniel Geey’s Done Deal, a comprehensive insight into the laws and business of the game so widely adored. He begins with a neatly encapsulated overview of the entire “football ecosystem”, highlighting all of the links between different financial aspects of the game, crucially demonstrating the main methods by which clubs generate income and exploring the intricate links between all financial aspects of the game. It is an example-based book, with analysis of multiple examples the perfect method for highlighting and demonstrating the different concepts which he is explaining.
Football Transfers
Transfer gossip, in a generation of social media, is a constant of the game, and Geey’s second chapter on player transfers and contracts delves deeper into the mechanics of how these staggering deals are pulled off. Whilst on computer games, transfers may appear straightforward, Geey portrays an unseen world of contracts, rules and negotiations, often protracted over a much longer period of time than is depicted in the media. One of the major aspects of transfers that Geey highlights is the use of FIFA’s “Transfer Matching System”, in which FIFA are able to legally process the transfer of a player between National Associations, for registration in different leagues. By incorporating this system into the global game, FIFA fulfils its role as the governing body of the game. Geey examines how a transfer fee may be broken down, noting the frequent incorporation of multiple payments and performance related bonuses in modern deals. He uses the mammoth transfer of Phillippe Coutinho in 2018 from Liverpool to Barcelona, and their previous bid in 2017, as an example in the book; he analyses how only around £82 million of the total transfer fee would be guaranteed, with the rest of the fee payable upon the fulfilment of a plethora of performance-related bonuses. By including such bonuses, clubs ensure they pay a fee for the player which is also representative of their value based on their performances after the move has occurred. Interestingly since the book has been published, Coutinho won the 2019-2020 UEFA Champions League whilst on loan at FC Bayern Munchen. This achievement would ultimately cost Barcelona in performance-based bonuses agreed in the player’s transfer from Liverpool, despite him not playing for the club, and ironically scoring against them in the competition’s knockout stages. Perhaps this is an example of how performance-related bonuses can cost a club in situations they did not originally anticipate.
A player’s contract is the legally binding legislature which provides security for both the player and the club. Geey provides a breakdown of how these contracts work, exploring the incorporation of a variety of bonuses players may have inserted into their contracts, and he explores some unique examples in which contracts have been examined to determine the legal standing in various situations. In his discussion of the famous transfer of Neymar from Barcelona to PSG in 2017 for £198 million, a fee which still is the world record for a transfer, he notes the intricate differences in the release clauses for the Spanish La Liga. As Geey outlines, the release clause is paid directly to the league, and not the club, as per the player’s contract. Therefore, the ‘selling’ club are omitted from any aspect of the negotiations given the current regulations. Intrigued by this, I discovered through my research that this is the result of the 1985 Spanish Royal Decree 1006. The decree determines that footballers and other professional athletes in Spain are granted the same rights as all other workers, hence the inclusion of release clauses within the contracts of the majority of professional athletes in Spain. The release clauses enable a figure to be set, as without a release clause, the player would be able to determine a buy out fee via a court process; a fee potentially much lower than the fee sought by the club.
The growing involvement of agents within various aspects of the game are explored in a chapter, with Geey even tackling the question of whether agents’ fees are becoming too large. He breaks down the various ways in which agents impact the game. Personally, the most insightful area of agents’ involvement which Geey explores, is how their role can sometimes be similar to that of a personal assistant; agents often are much more than just a professional representative for the player but are more like to a confidant.
Football Clubs as Businesses
Addressing the legal involvement of clubs, and how they function as a business, takes up a large proportion of Geey’s book. He comprehensively, yet clearly, explains how clubs are run as a business, and how clubs are able to generate revenue, whilst also staying within the financial laws established by the various governing associations. In this regard, I was mindful of the recent administration of Wigan Athletic FC during the past year, following the collapse of their previous only a month after they had taken over. This raised questions about the suitability and viability of the Football League’s screening process for new owners, a process which Geey outlines in his book. His analysis of the ownership of Leeds United by Massimo Cellino, and its ultimate failure, displays the potential problems and failures of taking over a football club. This insight was intriguing to consider when examining the recent financial troubles of Wigan Athletic, but also of other clubs down the football pyramid.
Financial Fair Play Rules
Football is a game with a stringent set of laws governing all aspects of the games, and this is the case with the Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules. Geey analyses these rules and discusses how clubs can best adhere to them, whilst also noting the penalties for failing to adhere to these rules, which are designed to protect clubs from a demise into an unsustainable business model. Not only are there limits on how much clubs can spend, often dependent on their revenues and profits, but Geey discusses the limits on the amount of money which a club can lose. The FFP rules aim to maintain a more equal level of competition, especially in the Premier League, and which aim to prevent clubs from falling into administration, hence the shock at the quick demise of Wigan Athletic in Spring 2020. The advantage of effective FFP rules is that by creating an unpredictable and competitive league, it is more marketable for the global market, and thus the revenues of all the clubs in the league can be increased through larger marketing and television deals. Without FFP rules, a league could be dominated by a select few teams, and as a predictable league provides fans with less excitement and shock results, the product is less popular. Geey uses a chapter of his book to delve deeper into the television deals involved in football, and intriguingly notes the slight decrease in the prices for broadcast packages in the most recent auction of Premier League rights. He even examines the impact of illegal streams and piracy on these television deals, and the subsequent impacts on the clubs. Ultimately, it is the desire for a profitable product to sell which has led to the establishment of the European Super League; yet it remains to be seen whether frequent matches between Europe’s top clubs will generate the same interest as the rare occasions in which they have met in recent years.
The Evolution of Football
The roles of youth development in a club’s business model are also incorporated in the book, as is the role of managers. However, in the most light-hearted chapter Geey analyses occasions in which footballers have conducted themselves in a manner at odds to the expected standards. Who can forget Ryan Babel’s tweet of Howard Webb in a Manchester United shirt? Geey intriguingly highlights that this was the first instance of a player being fined for an offensive social media post, prompting a change in the laws set out by the FA for player conduct. Many other examples convey just how much the game has evolved even during the last decade; social media has brought the players and clubs closer to the fans than ever, and as such, the laws and regulations established by clubs and national associations, and even governing bodies, are constantly being adapted to protect the interests of those involved in the game.
In summary, Daniel Geey’s book provides a fantastic insight into the legal and business side of football; a side which is coming under increasing scrutiny. Depending on the advances of the very recently proposed European Super League (ESL), a seemingly independent body and league not under the traditional jurisdictions of UEFA and FIFA, it is likely there will be huge ramifications across the global game, especially as a result of the significant legal implications of this breakaway league. Given his informative and comprehensive analysis of the global business that football has become, it will be interesting to read Geey’s take on this matter. For anyone interested in sports law, or if you are a sports fan considering a career in law, Done Deal is a fantastic way to spark an interest in the legal profession.
References
Geey, D. “Done Deal: An Insider’s Guide to Football Contracts, Multi-Million Pound Transfers and Premier League Business” (London, 2020).
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