Inter director Beppe Marotta proposed radical changes to the way transfers are conducted, effectively making players free agents after the age of 25.
Marotta sat down with La Gazzetta dello Sport magazine SportWeek and explained just how much the football world has changed since he started in 1977.
Inter director Beppe Marotta proposed radical changes to the way transfers are conducted, effectively making players free agents after the age of 25.
Marotta sat down with La Gazzetta dello Sport magazine SportWeek and explained just how much the football world has changed since he started in 1977.
“In 1978, the transfer headquarters were raided by police, everything came to a halt and the Government had to intervene. Until that point, clubs could exchange players as if they were postal packages, giving them no choice in the matter. The Players’ Association sued and it became law that a player had to sign the contract before it became valid.
“When the Bosman ruling came in, deciding a player out of contract could leave without owing his former club a cent, that saw the whole situation turn around. We are at the exact opposite of where we were when I started out.
“Presidents have also changed, the figure of the business magnate patron has disappeared. Clubs now are run by management governance strategies and strict Financial Fair Play rules, making everything more complicated.
“We’ve also practically lost the concept of players who want to remain at one club for life, because the more transfers they make, the more they earn. Again, we have completely overturned the situation from 1977.
“Back then, the player was forced to accept what the club wanted, now the clubs are forced to deal with what the player decides. Both situations are extreme and therefore wrong.
“The solution would be to deregulate everything and bring the value of transfer fees down to zero after a player turns 25. He becomes like an actor, free to negotiate his salary for a film. That would remove the cost of investment and relative balance sheet adjustments.
“Of course, it would favour big clubs, but at the same time if sales were maintained until the age of 25, it’d safeguard smaller clubs and reward them for developing young players.”