Haaland, Bosman and the free agent dance

Erling Haaland says goodbye to the Borussia Dortmund fans on May 14 at the Signal Iduna Park. LEON KUEGELER (REUTERS)

Erling Haaland has opened the great transfer ball that European football will experience at the hands of the so-called "free agents", the players who finish their contract and who can change clubs for free.

Strictly speaking, Haaland is not a free agent and, in fact, Manchester City have paid Borussia Dortmund the release clause that the Norwegian had, which is estimated at 60 million euros.

A fabled price if you think that Barcelona paid 55 million (plus a possible 10 in variables) to City for Ferran Torres in January.

But it is important to underline that if Haaland had a release clause, it is because that was the only way that Dortmund had to close his transfer in January 2020. For the player, it was the guarantee that, if he wanted, he could easily leave from of the summer of 2022, as it has been.

for the club,

the certainty that, at least, he would collect that money if the player decided to leave early.

Haaland owes all this to Jean-Marc Bosman, the modest Belgian player who in September 1995 changed football forever.

Without Bosman, there would be no freedom clauses.

Free agents were created by FIFA in September 2001 after intense pressure from the European Commission, which wanted the ruling in the Bosman case, which enshrined the right of footballers to change clubs when their contract was up, to be extended to rest of the world.

Although it seems incredible today, the Belgian RFC Liege did not want to let the player go for free when he finished his contract and he decided to challenge the club and UEFA, and go to court.

Thirty years after the historic decision of the Court of Justice of the EU, the victory of Bosman, who promoted the free movement of players in Europe and facilitated the letter of freedom to the most modest players, those who most they could be affected by what was in practice a forced lien.

According to FIFA data, 63% of the players who changed clubs in 2020 did so as free agents at the end of their contracts.

It is common also among the most veteran players.

But now the stars of the moment are also taking advantage of that option because they have discovered that it is very profitable for them not to renew their current contracts in order to change their shirt without the new club having to pay a transfer fee, which allows them to negotiate lower salaries high prices and commissions for them and their agents.

Although it's not without risk because a fall from grace or a major injury can derail those ambitions, more and more big-name players are choosing that route.

According to the consulting firm KPMG and Football Benchmark, the number of transfers has fallen by 15% between 2019 and 2021 in the five major European leagues, in which they accounted for 36% of transfers and now represent 30%;

the percentage of players who change clubs as free agents has gone from 19% to 22%,

This trend may be temporary, as a consequence of the economic hardships created by covid.

But the cream of the cream of the players are more and more for the work of waiting to be free agents to change clubs.

If last year it was Messi and Donnarumma, this year it could be Mbappé, Pogba, Dembelé, Bale, Dybala and many more.

There is also a long list of veterans about to become free agents and with the opportunity to prolong (or not) their careers, such as Cavani, Mata, Fernandinho, Luis Suárez, Modric, Isco, Marcelo, Falcao, Perisic, Ibrahimovic, Arturo Vidal, Ribéry, Di María, Fábregas or Witsel.

Time doesn't stop.

You can follow EL PAÍS Deportes on

Exclusive content for subscribers

read without limits

subscribe

I'm already a subscriber