You have just become You First's World Soccer Director. What does that involve?
Spain was our natural market for 20 years in representation. But we have been expanding to other countries for some time, extrapolating the model to Mexico with Enrique Nieto, Brazil with Guilherme Siqueira, France with Fred Déhu and Italy with Miguel Alfaro. My job is going to be that the offices are fully coordinated and to complete it with more sites, such as in the UK and Germany. You First is and will be in those countries and with its own staff, trained by us. Here in Spain we have Loren del Pino, Pelayo García, Rodolfo Orife, Mikel Abete, David Aranda … We work as a team.
The thing about the representative who worked alone is ending.
The old agent ran the firm, took the money, and flew. Our main service is to get the player the best contract and bouquet of equipment in his career, but there are added services such as tax, legal, financial, moving … Make life easier for players and their families. The typical saying that the footballer only dedicates himself to playing, let that be true.
But there are still famous cases of old-fashioned agents like, for example, Mino Raiola.
There remains that individual agent, which is in disuse. Representative figures remain but they are closely linked to the culture of the ball, that is the climate they leave behind. And that is what FIFA already wants to regulate, such as the 27 million commission that was generated in some operation. We support that these types of regulations be changed and that there be transparency in operations. Agents who do things in a more normal way are good for us.
And what about the lower fees?
On that we do not agree so much. They are usually 10 percent. We invest a lot in structures, we make the work of the players much easier with the amount of services we provide them. If you lower the percentage, you are hurting the care of footballers.
How has the pandemic seated representation?
At You First we have had good results at the agency level, because we had the muscle to withstand what has come. Salaries and our fees have been lowered, but we were prepared. It is true that others may have had a worse time. The way of working has changed a lot, we were constantly traveling and handling information, something that is important. There is not the same friction with the player in person, but through other means such as videoconferencing.
And will the cut in player salaries continue?
The pandemic came to us for the time being, the clubs readjusted salaries and I don't know of any team in which footballers did not lower salaries. We all put our shoulders together but I would not understand that in the next markets they were lowered again, because the budgets are already known and the pandemic is known.
The free players thing …
Formerly being free of contract was a great advantage, today it surely is not. Because they still don't pay you the same contract you had again. There is a brutal excess of players, many have had to go to unemployment, there has been little movement. I hope it does not go further. But they are not the only ones or only the great losers.
…?
Of the pandemic I am concerned about the players, of course, but there are many unions and families that live indirectly from football. Soccer continues to be consumed but those other alternative businesses are suffering and that is why it is important that normality returns as soon as possible.
Would Fabian, You First player, have left Napoli without the pandamia?
There were offers for Fabian before the pandemic, all interests had been transferred to Naples. With the pandemic, there have been proposals that Naples has rejected, of many millions of euros but somewhat less due to the situation. Madrid has not signed anyone, Barça and Atlético a few … In Europe almost nobody has bought much. I think that in the next two markets things will be similar but that it will be reactivated later.
Has this situation brought something 'less bad' if not good, to the world of football?
Something if. It serves and will serve to rationalize market prices, which had once again gotten out of hand. The players generate it, but you have to balance it, especially in transfers. The amounts are not consistent with the times we live in. In the coming years it will be difficult to see transfers of more than 100 million euros. There are large clubs that without merchandising, shops and museums are losing 250 million or more, which was previously used in such large player purchases.
Your perspective for the future is …
I am much more optimistic than pessimistic. I think football has hit rock bottom already. The televisions will be there, football continues to be consumed and when the vaccine arrives, people will be able to go to the stadiums.