Fifa to cap ‘excessive and abusive’ agent fees despite legal challenge threat from Mino Raiola

A 10 per cent cap will be placed on all football agents’ fees as Fifa attempts to tackle the ‘excessive and abusive’ sums taken out of the game by representatives.

The cap will apply to the amount an agent can earn in relation to the transfer fee their client moves for, with an additional cap of three per cent of the player’s wages to be introduced for other services from next season.

Leading agents such as Mino Raiola, Erling Haaland’s representative, and, Jonathan Bartlett, who looks after the careers of stars including Gareth Bale, have threatened legal action against such a move although a German court has found in Fifa’s favour at a preliminary hearing.

Figures released on Wednesday revealed intermediaries earned fees of £760,000 or over in 117 transfers during 2021.

Fifa’s director of regulatory football, James Kitching, said: “There is a drop in transfer fees paid [in 2020] but when you expect to see a similar drop in agents fees, instead we see a slight increase.

“There are some really striking numbers when you look at the fee compared to the [player] salary. That is why we are looking at abusive and excessive practices.”

One such deal saw an unnamed agent pocket a fee worth 118 per cent of the transfer fee paid by a German club to a French club for one player.

Fifa’s latest report comes off the back of evidence handed over by the Premier League, the international players’ union Fifpro, and the European Club Association.

The report stated: “Feedback from key stakeholders with expert knowledge such as the ECA and the Premier League have clearly pointed out the need to ensure all forms of service fees are capped to avoid circumvention and to ensure the cap is effective and addresses the issues identified.

“The simple reality is that, particularly at the top level of the game where such practices are often identified, football agents are very often paid on a fixed-fee basis, and by the engaging club.

“Failing to cap fixed fees therefore permits abusive and excessive practices to continue.”