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For many people Joey Barton represents everything that is wrong with today’s football. He has been accused of being a disloyal money grabber by many of his own supporters, however the following article does give a different side to the situation. It seems his agent has been deliberately trying to unsettle him to get him transferred to another club even though Barton himself is happy to stay at Man City. This raises an important question in football. Are footballers exploited?
Its difficult for the average football fan to imagine that an adult multimillionaire who is living his dream could be exploited. But consider this. A football club will always be cold hearted when it comes to footballers, they show zero loyalty and will happily get rid (sell, offload) a player when interests them. They will also always try to pay a player as little as possible (like any other business). For this reason footballers do not trust their clubs and so they employ an outside agent to represents their interests. But as these agents are usually paid on a percentage basis, they will inherently want to make sure that the player is at the club who will pay the highest wage - not the club where he will win the most trophies, be happiest, play the best football etc. Furthermore, the agent will make money from transfers so will also want the player to make as many transfers as possible.
The agents priority is not the players football, happiness or reputation but money. So the agents will encourage the player to act in a way that he would not usually do, to serve the interest of the agent – which he perceives to be his own interest. You can argue that players are adults and should be able to make up their own minds as to what they want. However, most players gave up their education to concentrate on their football. There’s no reason to assume the stereotype of the thick footballer is not true for many of the stars of the premiership. Just look at players like R. Ferdianand, A.Cole. S. Gerrard. W. Rooney etc.
So are players being manipulated by there agents to do things that they wouldn’t ordinarily do, or are players just ‘greedy cunts’.
Article from the Guardian. http://football.guardian.co.uk/News_Story/0,,1993009,00.html
Joey Barton is to consider severing ties with his agent, Willie McKay, after becoming infuriated this week with his Monaco-based representative's involvement in the confusion surrounding his future at Manchester City.
The 24-year-old midfielder felt moved to stress his desire to stay at Eastlands in the wake of Tuesday's FA Cup third-round replay victory over Sheffield Wednesday after McKay had publicly suggested earlier in the day that his client might wish to speak to Everton about a potential £5.5m transfer. Barton is understood to have telephoned his agent before the game and expressed his displeasure at those comments, with the player reiterating that he is unwilling to consider a move during the current transfer window.
He subsequently stated that "people are trying to unsettle me", an apparent reference to McKay. The rift appears to date back almost exactly a year when Barton was advised by his representative to submit a written transfer request on the eve of the closure of the winter window on the understanding that a number of clubs then competing in the Champions League were intent upon signing him. That interest never materialised, forcing him, embarrassingly, to withdraw the request and see the season out at City.
McKay did secure his client a lucrative new four-year contract in the summer but the City manager, Stuart Pearce, suggested after Tuesday's victory that Barton might no longer be associated with the agent, whom he joined in 2005 after leaving SFX Sports Management. "I am not even sure that Willie McKay is his agent," said Pearce. "I would check that if I was you. My advice is to check at the FA to see if he actually is his agent."
The Football Association last night refused to confirm or deny whether McKay was formally registered to negotiate for Barton, but the agent himself was more forthcoming. "I have an informal agreement with Joey and I have spoken with him today. Until I'm told otherwise I am still his agent," he said.
Yet, intriguingly, it has also emerged that Phil Smith, who runs the First Artist agency with his brother Jon, has been dealing with Barton's commercial interests for some time, which suggests there may be scope for the player to move into that stable. However, Smith was quick to insist last night that there have been no discussions regarding any further representation of the player.
McKay denies having attempted to move Barton on, despite stating on Tuesday that Everton "along with three or four other clubs" had declared an interest. The Merseysiders' manager, David Moyes, was ruing his inability to sign Barton and may now wait until the end of the season before adding to his midfield. "Obviously we would like to add to the squad this month and we know what we would like to bring in," he said. "We are looking around but the prices at the moment are inflated and the quality of player available is very limited."
Everton's disappointment at missing out on Barton may be mirrored at Chelsea after the midfielder's team-mate, Micah Richards, followed his lead in pledging his future to the club. The England international had attracted interest from the champions but the 18-year-old has stressed that he sees his future at City.
"I want to stay at Manchester City Football Club," he said. "I've been at the club since I was 14 and I've been playing since I was 17. I'm happy to stay at this club. I haven't really paid much attention to the speculation. The gaffer gave me a chance when I was 17 and I want to repay him."
Its difficult for the average football fan to imagine that an adult multimillionaire who is living his dream could be exploited. But consider this. A football club will always be cold hearted when it comes to footballers, they show zero loyalty and will happily get rid (sell, offload) a player when interests them. They will also always try to pay a player as little as possible (like any other business). For this reason footballers do not trust their clubs and so they employ an outside agent to represents their interests. But as these agents are usually paid on a percentage basis, they will inherently want to make sure that the player is at the club who will pay the highest wage - not the club where he will win the most trophies, be happiest, play the best football etc. Furthermore, the agent will make money from transfers so will also want the player to make as many transfers as possible.
The agents priority is not the players football, happiness or reputation but money. So the agents will encourage the player to act in a way that he would not usually do, to serve the interest of the agent – which he perceives to be his own interest. You can argue that players are adults and should be able to make up their own minds as to what they want. However, most players gave up their education to concentrate on their football. There’s no reason to assume the stereotype of the thick footballer is not true for many of the stars of the premiership. Just look at players like R. Ferdianand, A.Cole. S. Gerrard. W. Rooney etc.
So are players being manipulated by there agents to do things that they wouldn’t ordinarily do, or are players just ‘greedy cunts’.
Article from the Guardian. http://football.guardian.co.uk/News_Story/0,,1993009,00.html
Joey Barton is to consider severing ties with his agent, Willie McKay, after becoming infuriated this week with his Monaco-based representative's involvement in the confusion surrounding his future at Manchester City.
The 24-year-old midfielder felt moved to stress his desire to stay at Eastlands in the wake of Tuesday's FA Cup third-round replay victory over Sheffield Wednesday after McKay had publicly suggested earlier in the day that his client might wish to speak to Everton about a potential £5.5m transfer. Barton is understood to have telephoned his agent before the game and expressed his displeasure at those comments, with the player reiterating that he is unwilling to consider a move during the current transfer window.
He subsequently stated that "people are trying to unsettle me", an apparent reference to McKay. The rift appears to date back almost exactly a year when Barton was advised by his representative to submit a written transfer request on the eve of the closure of the winter window on the understanding that a number of clubs then competing in the Champions League were intent upon signing him. That interest never materialised, forcing him, embarrassingly, to withdraw the request and see the season out at City.
McKay did secure his client a lucrative new four-year contract in the summer but the City manager, Stuart Pearce, suggested after Tuesday's victory that Barton might no longer be associated with the agent, whom he joined in 2005 after leaving SFX Sports Management. "I am not even sure that Willie McKay is his agent," said Pearce. "I would check that if I was you. My advice is to check at the FA to see if he actually is his agent."
The Football Association last night refused to confirm or deny whether McKay was formally registered to negotiate for Barton, but the agent himself was more forthcoming. "I have an informal agreement with Joey and I have spoken with him today. Until I'm told otherwise I am still his agent," he said.
Yet, intriguingly, it has also emerged that Phil Smith, who runs the First Artist agency with his brother Jon, has been dealing with Barton's commercial interests for some time, which suggests there may be scope for the player to move into that stable. However, Smith was quick to insist last night that there have been no discussions regarding any further representation of the player.
McKay denies having attempted to move Barton on, despite stating on Tuesday that Everton "along with three or four other clubs" had declared an interest. The Merseysiders' manager, David Moyes, was ruing his inability to sign Barton and may now wait until the end of the season before adding to his midfield. "Obviously we would like to add to the squad this month and we know what we would like to bring in," he said. "We are looking around but the prices at the moment are inflated and the quality of player available is very limited."
Everton's disappointment at missing out on Barton may be mirrored at Chelsea after the midfielder's team-mate, Micah Richards, followed his lead in pledging his future to the club. The England international had attracted interest from the champions but the 18-year-old has stressed that he sees his future at City.
"I want to stay at Manchester City Football Club," he said. "I've been at the club since I was 14 and I've been playing since I was 17. I'm happy to stay at this club. I haven't really paid much attention to the speculation. The gaffer gave me a chance when I was 17 and I want to repay him."
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