Make a return with Neymar and Co

The FIFA World Cup in Qatar has led to an unusually long winter break in European club football. The transfer window – i.e. the period during which players are allowed to change clubs – does not start until January 1, 2023. But while the ball is still rolling in Qatar, club managers in Europe’s top leagues are already busy negotiating with players and advisors possible changes. It is no longer the exception that high double-digit million amounts are called up – sometimes even more. The current transfer record is held by the Brazilian Neymar, who moved from FC Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain in the summer of 2017 for 222 million euros.

Of course, the selling club would like to have the money immediately – possibly also in order to be able to find a replacement for the departing player. However, the buyer may wish to make more than this one transfer but does not have sufficient cash to do so. That’s why there are other players in top-flight transfers that the general public is generally unaware of: financial service providers. They make the amount due available to the selling club immediately and thus ensure the necessary liquidity in the increasingly large-volume transfer business. The buying club then owes the financial service provider and is obligated to pay it.

You can read the full article in the current issue of dpn.