To be footballer agent It is not always a sought-after vocation. Sometimes it arises because a family member turns out to be a prodigy, other times because of having people skills and knowing how to gain the trust of promising young people. There are also those who are already directly training to obtain one of the licenses that FIFA requires to be able to operate in the transfer market. And it is not surprising that there are people whose desire is no longer to run a club, but rather a representation agency. With much less pressure from the media or fans, the agent business is one of the most lucrative in the industry: $1,367 million in revenue in 2025 alone, practically double that of the previous year. A record that is not surprising if one understands its increasingly central role in a market as opaque as it is dynamic.
Now, not everyone has the official seal to dedicate themselves to the activity of taking care of the careers of athletes or, at a given moment, being the necessary lubricant to carry out operations that seemed doomed to failure. Because I don't know if you know, but for a couple of years the FIFA requires passing an exam to practice. And no, don't worry because there are veterans who have let people from their agencies do that work for them to focus on what has really made them relevant: the phone book.
Unblock signings
If you think about it, agents are still a kind of brokers like those in the stock market, itinerant kioskers who put someone else's merchandise in their window in exchange for a margin. In short, a commercial sales force external to the clubs to reach where they cannot reach. Either due to a lack of structure and external relations in specific countries, or because they have no intention of dedicating time to canvassing the market about a potential sale or incorporation.
Jorge Mendes. / The Newspaper
Because make no mistake. Although they were born to defend the player, today many agencies also work for the clubs. They not only advise, but also unblock signings or sales. Why does a club need to pay for a service that they should be able to manage directly? Because there are few who operate as freelancers and focus on the career of a single athlete. Today they are companies with a portfolio of players as wide as the contact list that they have ended up creating for that initial mission: to guarantee an optimal career in sports and economics, in exchange for a percentage of the salary.
And that portfolio makes the “today you help me, and tomorrow we'll see what I can do for you” triumph. The data supports this, because the higher the transfer, the more transactions the figure of the agent appears in. The question is whether it makes economic sense for a club to pay between $78,000 and $977,000 per transfer for services provided. They will say that a variable cost is better than a fixed structure. Or maybe it's just more comfortable to delegate… and cross your fingers.
LaLiga wants movement in winter
LaLiga has put on the table a package of changes in its economic control to try to reactivate a transfer market that looks cold. Among the novelties that will begin to be applied are the so-called wild cardswhich will allow each club to renew one player per season free of conditions, a relief for managing squads without “spending” the salary limit.
Capital gains may also be hibernated: profits generated in winter that the club prefers to use in summer, seeking not to lose opportunities just because of the calendar.
And, perhaps more significant in the medium term, LaLiga is expanding salary exemptions linked to youth academy and veteran players: downward contracts for footballers aged 36 or older may reduce staff costs, and spending on grassroots football may subtract up to 2 million euros from the salary limit if the shareholder contributes it.
They are technical adjustments, yes, but they can translate into more flexibility to sign and manage squads.
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