Agents and transfers - All bent

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Postby kindaconfused » Fri Oct 08, 2004 8:52 am

Judge slams 'murky world' of transfers

Football clubs and agents criticised in the high court

Paul Kelso
Friday October 8, 2004
The Guardian

A high court judge yesterday condemned the football transfer market as a "murky world" in which agents and clubs struck "bizarre transactions" which could lead to conflicts of interest.
Mr Justice Elias spoke out on the third day of Fulham's £7m action against their former manager Jean Tigana as Pascal Boisseau, an agent whose conduct lies at the heart of the case, gave evidence. The judge's comments came as details of the transfer of the forward Steve Marlet from Auxerre to Lyon - he was later sold to Fulham - were revealed.

On hearing that the agency BMB, owned by Boisseau and his brother Sébastien, negotiated with Lyon as Marlet's agents and then, two weeks before the deal was done, signed a contract with the French club to find a striker, the judge said: "This . . . reveals some unsatisfactory facts about these agents' relationships and their possible conflicts of interest. It seems to be a pretty murky world in which all clubs and agents are lending their name to these rather bizarre transactions."

The case revolves around Tigana's conduct of Fulham's transfer dealings, primarily in relation to the £11.5m Marlet deal, and promises to reveal some of the less palatable mechanics of the modern football business.

Fulham allege that Tigana, who was sacked in April 2003, breached his contract by concealing from the club the true value of players purchased, and wilfully misled them during legal proceedings taken against BMB. The transfers in question are the subject of a criminal inquiry in France. Tigana denies Fulham's claim and is countersuing for £2.1m in share options he is owed by the club.

The court heard details of an extraordinary string of contracts struck between the Boisseau brothers and variously Marlet, Lyon and Fulham. These deals meant that BMB, at various stages in the transfer of Marlet from Lyon to Fulham, acted for all three parties and received money from both clubs for doing so.

Counsel for Tigana also suggested that the Boisseau brothers, who at one stage were in litigation with Fulham, received an extra payment from the club for cooperating in the action against Tigana. They denied the allegation.

Fifa and Football Association rules prohibit agents from acting for or receiving money from more than one party in any deal, but the court heard evidence yesterday that suggested that with the assistance of buying and selling clubs these rules can easily be circumvented.

The Boisseau brothers' involvement with Marlet began in 2000 when, as his agents, they tried to strike a deal with Lyon. However, on May 15 2000 they signed a deal with the French club agreeing to act for them to find a striker. On June 8 2000 Marlet joined Lyon.

Paul Goulding QC, counsel for Tigana, asked Pascal Boisseau: "You had an agreement with Lyon to find them an attacker, yet at the same time BMB had an arrangement with Steve Marlet to act as his agent. And the player you found them was Steve Marlet. When Steve Marlet joined Lyon, who was his agent?"

"Himself," Boisseau replied.

Marlet's first season with Lyon, then managed by the present Tottenham coach Jacques Santini, was a success and he was called up to the France squad. In December 2000, Boisseau said, BMB began informally representing Marlet again, and in early 2001 renegotiated his contract with Lyon, including a clause that entitled the brothers to 7% of any subsequent transfer fee in excess of £6m.

In the spring of 2001 Marlet asked BMB to find him another club. After abortive talks with Gérard Houllier, the then Liverpool manager, in August Pascal Boisseau received a call from Tigana who had been alerted to the player's availability by Houllier. Boisseau accepted that at that stage BMB was once more Marlet's agent.

On August 17 Marlet, the Boisseaus, Tigana and the then Fulham managing director Michael Fiddy met at the Sofitel Hotel at Charles de Gaulle airport, Paris. They discussed the deal, and further talks followed two days later at Old Trafford, where Fulham played Manchester United.

Boisseau accepted that he was acting as Marlet's agent at this stage, and also on August 27 when he met executives of Lyon, who were reluctant to let the player go for less than FFr130m (about £13m).

The following day, however, when Marlet signed for Fulham, Boisseau signed a contract with the London club agreeing to act for them in closing the transfer. The agreed fee was 7% of Marlet's gross salary over the course of his contract, believed to be worth about £600,000.

Fulham agreed to pay this sum in instalments, and BMB invoiced Lyon for the percentage of the transfer fee agreed when Marlet's contract was negotiated. Marlet also received £500,000 from Fulham as a signing-on fee. What, if any, fee he forwarded to BMB for its services was not revealed.

Boisseau also accepted that BMB had negotiated the sale of two players to Lyon as replacements for Marlet. "We were acting for all the parties. The principle was that we wanted the transaction to happen," he said.

The case continues.


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