By Jerrad Peters

In soccer, all we hear about are transfer fees. In other American sports, we hear about trades and the salaries of the players. When a footballer is transferred, does he receive anything? And is his salary made public?
-Jim, Georgia 

This is a common question among North American sports fans. Bombarded with player transactions and salary negotiations from Major League Baseball, the National Football League, the National Basketball Association, and the National Hockey League, we are fully versed in the language of trades, free agents, and collective bargaining agreements. But there is a single, essential point of difference between the business practices of traditional, North American sports and European football. North American sports teams are franchises of an overlording league structure. European football clubs, conversely, are independent, wholly-owned companies – either privately operated by a single owner or investment group or floated on the stock market. 

As franchises, teams such as the New York Yankees and Dallas Cowboys are merely components of a much larger, corporate configuration. They are, in other words, single Starbucks outlets under the umbrella of Starbucks Coffee Company. And their value as franchises is tied directly to that of the league. In 2007, for example, CNN estimated Major League Baseball’s operating revenues to be approximately $6-billion. 

No such figure exists for the likes of England’s Premier League or Spain’s La Liga. That is, such a figure would be effectively meaningless. The European football circuits have absolutely no ownership over the participating clubs. They merely offer a hierarchy of competition into which the clubs are invited. Instead, financial values in football are attached directly to the clubs. For example, Manchester United earned approximately $394-million in revenue in 2007, according to Forbes Magazine. 

Why is this important in answering your question? As independent companies, football clubs speak the language of assets and liabilities. They are no different in that than any other, multi-national corporation. There are no legislated guidelines for the movement of players. Such restrictions, akin to North American collective bargaining agreements, would contravene European labor laws. 

Therefore, the notion of the Boston Red Sox trading Manny Ramirez to the Los Angeles Dodgers who, in turn, deal a collection of prospects to the Pittsburgh Pirates who, in turn, send Jason Bay to Boston, does not exist. It can only exist in an environment where player movement is legislated by the league. And in the world of European football, the leagues have no such authority.

Instead, the clubs have absolute ownership over their assets. And as a player is, in fact, an asset to the club, he is bought and sold as a commodity. When David Beckham was transferred from Manchester United to Real Madrid in 2003, the £25-million payment from the Spanish giants to United was a one-time, all-inclusive fee for the player and the right to sign him to a new contract.

Arranging a trade for a player is as rare in European football as it is nonsensical.  Just over two months ago, Arsenal acquired a young, up-and-coming midfielder named Aaron Ramsey from Cardiff City. Rather than orchestrating a player-swap, the two sides agreed a £4.8-million fee for the 17-year-old. The deal was good for both sides. Arsenal, by increasing their depth and adding a prospect to the ranks, increased their chances of winning trophies over the next few seasons. Cardiff City, by comparison, turned an asset into liquid cash – and a lot of it – which will be invested back into the club. It’s the way business works. And football, more than any other sport, is a business.

Typically, a transferred player will receive a percentage of the fee paid for him. That agreement will have been made when he signed a contract with the initial club. For example, he might have agreed to pocket 10% of any subsequent transfer fee over a certain period of time. Those sorts of details are flexible and a central part of contract negotiations.

Regarding players’ wages, football salaries are paid weekly and widely publicized. A low-level Premier League player might earn somewhere around £15,000 per-week. Top-end talent such as John Terry and Cristiano Ronaldo make as much as £120,000 per-week. The average salary would fall somewhere in the middle.

Have a question about football? Email your query to jerradpeters@gmail.com.