Back in July, we relayed the news that Arsenal had been fined by FIFA for the inclusion of sell-on clauses in the 2018 deals that saw Joel Campbell move to Italian side Frosinone and Chuba Akpom join Greek outfit PAOK.
In both instances, it was ruled by FIFA’s disciplinary committee that the variable sell-on rates that were agreed made it less attractive for the players to be sold back to British clubs.
To recap, we engineered deals where we’d be eligible for 40% of a transfer fee paid by a British club for Akpom compared to 30% from any other team. For Campbell, the figures were 30% and 25% respectively.
Since then Joel Campbell has moved to Mexican side Leon and, if rumours are to be believed, Akpom is on the verge of a deal with Championship side Middlesbrough. It seems the sell-on clause wasn’t that unattractive to Anglo-Greco relations after all…
Presumably, even though we’ve been fined, the clause still stands, which means we should net 40% of whatever the Greeks get for him. That could be very useful at a time when we’re trying to cobble together enough funds to invite people to Aouar Partey.
Akpom, 24, led the line for PAOK last night as they knocked Benfica out of the Champions League in the third qualifying round. By and large, it sounds like he’s done pretty well in Greece since leaving the Emirates in 2018. He even scored the winner in the 2019 Greek Cup Final against AEK Athens.
Boro will be the fourth team Akpom has represented in the Championship. During his time as a Gunner he embarked on loan spells with Nottingham Forest, Hull City and Brighton. He also played for Brentford and Coventry, both in League One at the time and spent a year in Belgium with Sint-Truiden.
We’ll be curious to see how much Neil Warnock shells out.
Aouar Partey, love it!!
“By and large, it sounds like he’s done pretty well in Greece since leaving the Emirates in 2018. ”
How well has he really done, if he hasn’t been arrested during his time in Greece while claiming he thought he was being kidnapped while being held in a police station. This is why he’s only getting Championship club interest. Had the young fella applied himself he’d be Captain material at United and our 40% would be sufficient for a midfielder.
haha
Aouar Partey… nice.
I hope Chuba goes for £10m+ and does well enough to justify it.
I hope he goes for £200 mil tbh
Probably more than the club’s worth
100 million dollars…. ?(for lack of a, pinky emoji)
Muhahahaha
I heard Barca need a striker, maybe he can go Barca for that amount
It’s literally jus their names…and it’s still genius
So fined by Fifa but the clause still stands? Pretty pointless of Fifa to fine us then….. oh wait! ?????
I guess the logic is that the fine offsets whatever profit we might make off the clause in the future, plus a stern “don’t do that again”.
“I guess the logic is that the fine offsets whatever profit we might make”
This makes no sense as that would suggest fifa are pocketing the money without helping either the player or the selling/buying clubs.
Who do you think they are??
Do you still believe in Fifa and UEFA after all the scams 😀
Damaging certainly, but the really powerful clubs in Europe have shown that they can/will stand up to UEFA anyway. At the end of the day, who do people pay to see (when people are able to, of course) – UEFA or the clubs. Isn’t the expression “Follow the money”?
Nope. Just ask Man$hitty the ramifications of FFP, or lack thereof. A slap on the wrist is a f*** you to other clubs that toe the line.
FIFA is the Trump of football world!
My upvote was for your name.
“Aouar Partey” – like it. Your talents are wasted on the likes of free-loading us.
Why do FIFA have to stick their nose in? We didn’t force any club to buy the players. If they didn’t like the deal they could have walked away. Glad we may be making some extra much needed dosh.
I’m willing to concede differential release clauses can quickly develop into an anti-competitive system. What I’m curious about is how far more open nonsense like Bayern’s purchase of Gnabry fails to trigger any repercussions.
https://www.fourfourtwo.com/news/serge-gnabry-arsenal-arsene-wenger-manipulated-by-bayern-munich
I’m glad you brought this up. I get that German football is much better for match-going fans due to price limits and cooperatives but the way sports media lauds about it, you’d think German clubs were saints.
They’re very much capable of bending the rules too. What Bayern “allegedly” ? did was even worse than the Chelsea & Ashley Cole saga
And don’t even get started about Leipzig …
Money in the bank, we rich rich.
All contributions gratefully received – we need money coming in from whatever source and every little helps.
‘It seems the sell-on clause wasn’t that unattractive to British clubs after all’ – I’m pretty sure it’s the Greek club which gets shafted on this one, unless I’ve misunderstood the deal.
I guess moreso that they’ll just up their asking price for a British club, the cost will filter down to the buyer if they’ve any sense
Although all money is welcomed, it’s believed Boro are paying £2.8mill. Think that’s £1,120,000 if my (google) maths is right. Never know, might make the difference between a yes and a no for a new player ?
Possibly, but remember we’ve already spent that sum several times over in wages for Willian, the wage upfilt for Auba and fee/wages for Gabriel. Even with the fees/wage savings for Martinez and Greenwood, we’re running a deficit before anyone else comes in.
Don’t worry about the club’s wages; they’ve got that sort of thing figured out.
I wonder why this isn’t allowed but Liverpool’s clause with Barca as part of the Coutinho deal was? Obviously different, but both are ultimately making it harder for players to move to a team of their choosing and influencing transfer decisions. Surely these things should either be black and white or clubs given free rein, rather than being assessed case by case as seems to happen?
Could it be that Liverpool have more clout where it matters than we do? Too cynical, of course.
Still the guy with the best adapted theme song: “Sex Bomb”.
If a player is loaned for 10 mil with a obligation to buy after the season ends for 20. Does a club pay the sell on percentage over the 20 mil or 30?
I wonder if it’s a way for clubs to get around the sell on clause because i’ve been seeing it a lot lately. Or is it just a way to get around the FFP regulations?
Off Topic*
What do you guys make of the news that’s been circulating about Bale rejoining the Hotshits?
Meh.
Still cunts, still shit
Hope he bombs and fails and bombs. As I always do with that lot.
It’ll be just another reason to laugh at them.
Bale’s finished.
https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/54050027
How we have let Cagigao go is beyond me. I think we should reconsider.
Brought in Martinelli for us and Fabregas, Santi.
Talented scout, wonderful person. He’ll do well wherever he ends up.
Had high hopes for Chuba as a youth prospect. Glad to see he is having a good career
Hadn’t Besiktas agreed a €2m fee for him? Boro’s bid can’t be much higher (€3m?), so I wouldn’t expect Carlos Vela level clause money.
He’s done well in European games (scored and played well against Ajax etc), I’m surprised more non-Neil Warnocky teams aren’t interested in him.
Is it just me or is Neil Warnock one of the scariest looking men you’ve ever seen. Does he ever smile?
Love how Kroenke has turned us all into accountants.
We shouldn’t be counting money, we should be celebrating signings like other clubs.
Fuck the Kronke’s.
Amen brother. People moan about what we paid for this player or that player as if we’re somehow above market forces, like a form of inverted snobbery. Oh sure, they talk the talk, they want us to be the best, to attract the best (and all the rest of the Kroenke’s bullshit manifesto) but not have to cough up market prices. Well, sorry, life’s not like that. For the most part, you get what you pay for. Sometimes (like Mustafi) you get fuck all for what you pay for and very very very occasionally (like Henry) you get far more… Read more »
*By that, I mean they’ll be wanting Arteta out, not Kroenke out.
No way, over time people will realise that Arteta’s not the problem, its the Kroenkes…
Well, that gloriously sunny May afternoon of 2004, as Arsenal completed going an entire league season unbeaten, if someone had said to me that within a decade a certain section of Arsenal fan base would be giving Wenger abuse and calling for him to go from our new stadium that was about to be built – I would probably have shaken my head and denied it too. But that’s what happened. Somewhere, down the line, this club will need a takeover of ownership and someone prepared to invest in this club. Or history will repeat itself. Only this time, it… Read more »
We’re not know as the Bank of England club for nothing. We have a reputation to keep ; )
He is still in the champions League and Middlesbrough feel they can tempt him to the championship?
Or put another way, he’s still enjoying cocktails on the beach in Thessaloniki and Middlesbrough feel they can tempt him to a freezing post-industrial shit hole?
It really does put a lot into context just how much money there is in English football.A Championship side trying to persuade a Champions League team.
On a personal level, he might miss friends and family. Especially with the ever-changing travel restrictions
Get out while you still can, Joel