Authors: Andrea Sticca, Irene Gianni
In modern professional football, the footballer’s position lies at the intersection of two distinct yet inevitably interconnected contractual relationships: on the one hand, the sports employment contract with the club; on the other, the agency contract with the agent (now referred to as a sports agent). This constitutes a genuine ‘dual track’ legal system, on the one hand, sporting performance and, on the other, the management of the athlete’s economic and professional interests.
The first relationship , that with the club, is governed by a regulatory framework comprising the law on professional sport (Law No. 91/1981), FIGC regulations and collective agreements. The footballer is classified as an employee, albeit within a special framework, with specific rules on duration, transfers and discipline. The nature of the relationship with the agent is different, falling under an agency contract and governed by the Civil Code and sports regulations (FIGC and FIFA), with the function of representing and protecting the athlete’s interests in negotiations and career management.
Although these two contracts are formally independent, in practice they operate in a coordinated manner. It is precisely in their interaction that the main operational challenges emerge: conflicts of interest, contractual misalignments, overlapping obligations and risks of the agreements being ineffective. The following analysis takes this perspective, with the aim of offering a practical understanding of the system and the most sensitive issues in the establishment and management of the relationship between the player, the club and the agent.
The Contract Between the Player and the Club
The relationship between a professional footballer and a football club is, under our legal system, a special form of employment contract, governed by Law No. 91/1981, FIGC regulations and sector-specific collective agreements. The distinctive nature of this model is evident in the structure of the contract: a fixed-term relationship, with a duration determined by sporting bodies, and integration into a regulated system which limits negotiating autonomy. The footballer is, to all intents and purposes, an employee, but with a special modulation of the employer’s powers, which are also exercised through technical and sport-specific disciplinary rules The service does not end with participation in matches, but includes obligations regarding preparation, training, and compliance with technical directives and internal regulations, with a particularly high degree of organisational control.
The contract has a structure that differs significantly from the standard employment model in several key respects. The temporary nature of the relationship, which is structurally inherent to the sporting system, is combined with renewal and extension mechanisms that take on strategic importance in technical and economic planning. Remuneration is characterised by a complex structure, in which a fixed component coexists with variable elements linked to results, attendance or targets, introducing a performance-based dimension that directly affects the reciprocal contractual balance of the relationship. The management of injuries and fitness for sporting performance represents a further distinctive feature, in that the relationship integrates health protection obligations with the need for continuity of performance, in a context where an injury is significant not only on a personal level but also for the organisation.
A further distinctive feature is the regulation of the termination of the relationship and the procedures for early termination. The system recognises models of termination that complement those typical of labour law, including scenarios linked to ‘sporting just cause ’ and the possibility of predetermining the financial consequences of termination. The regulatory dimension also affects the exercise of disciplinary power, which operates at two levels, contractual and federal, and requires coordination between different sources. Finally, the presence of ancillary obligations, such as those relating to the use of the player’s image and participation in promotional activities, helps to define a complex relationship in which the provision of labour is intertwined with additional economic interests, making the footballer’s contract an atypical legal instrument, strongly integrated into the sporting system and at the same time attributable to the principles of employment. Within this framework, the genesis and evolution of the relationship are often influenced by parallel representation and assistance agreements, which are bound to affect contractual choices and the balance of negotiations, as will be seen in the discussion of the relationship between the footballer and the agent.
The Agency Contract Between the Footballer and the Sports Agent: Legal Aspects and Application Issues
The agency contract between a footballer and a sports agent is one of the central instruments in regulating relations between players and the football market, situated at the intersection of civil law and sports law. From a legal perspective, it is generally classified as a mandate under Articles 1703 et seq. of the Italian Civil Code, although it exhibits atypical characteristics stemming from the complexity of the services provided, which range from negotiation advice to the strategic management of the player’s career.
The contractual autonomy of the parties is significantly influenced by the specific regulations of the sports legal system, with particular regard to the Football Agent Regulations introduced by FIFA and implemented at national level by the Italian Football Federation. These provisions provide, amongst other things, for the requirement that such agreements be in writing, limits on the duration of the contract, regulation of remuneration and specific restrictions regarding conflicts of interest.
Among the essential elements of the contract, the subject matter (assistance and representation), the duration,often subject to maximum limits, and the remuneration are of particular importance; the latter is now heavily regulated through commission cap mechanisms that affect the parties’ freedom to negotiate. Exclusivity clauses are also common in practice, and their validity must be assessed in light of the principles of proportionality and the protection of the footballer’s professional autonomy.
The main critical issues arise in relation to the compatibility of regulatory limits with competition law, the management of conflicts of interest, and disputes concerning early termination and the right to remuneration. In this context, the agency contract remains a constantly evolving instrument, characterised by a delicate balance between the need to regulate the system and the protection of the parties’ private autonomy.
When negotiating a contract with an agent, the footballer should pay particular attention to certain clauses that frequently appear in practice. Firstly, it is advisable to assess exclusivity clauses with caution, especially if they are not adequately limited in time or scope, so as not to unduly restrict one’s professional freedom, particularly in the case of young players about to sign their first professional contracts.
Similar attention should be paid to the duration of the contract, which should be consistent with regulatory limits and the athlete’s need for flexibility.
As for remuneration, it is advisable to verify compliance with the provisions of FIFA and the Italian Football Federation regulations, avoiding ambiguous or excessively onerous agreements, particularly in relation to remuneration for future transactions or those not directly concluded by the agent.
Particular caution should also be exercised regarding clauses governing the termination of the relationship, in order to avoid financial obligations even in the absence of actual activity on the part of the intermediary.
Finally, it is essential to ensure there are no conflicts of interest and to guarantee full transparency in the relationship, including through the proper formalisation and registration of the agreement in accordance with current sports regulations.
The Intersection Between the Two Contracts
It is in the practical interaction between the professional sports employment contract and the agency contract that the main operational challenges arise. Although the two relationships are distinct in legal terms, they influence one another at every stage of the relationship: from the initial negotiation right through to its eventual termination.
A first aspect concerns the initial phase. The agent negotiates the financial and contractual terms with the club, but does so on the basis of a mandate that may include interests and incentives not perfectly aligned with those of the club. This is the case, for example, with fees linked to future transfers: in such instances, the agent may be incentivised to favour an early transfer of the player, even where a contract is still in force and formally stable.
A second aspect concerns the management of the relationship. In practice, requests for contractual adjustments or early renewal do not originate directly from the player, but are conveyed by the agent. This can lead to a disconnect between the content of the contract and its actual implementation, with implications for the stability of the relationship. The recent case of suspended renewals due to failure to agree on agent commissions is a prime example: the contract between the player and the club is in place, but negotiations remain deadlocked on an external level.
A further critical issue arises in the ‘pathological’ phase of the relationship. In the event of early termination or a transfer, the contract with the agent may provide for entitlement to compensation even in the absence of any actual activity performed, or give rise to disputes running parallel to the main dispute between the player and the club.
In practical terms, this requires a coordinated interpretation of the two relationships: the contract with the player cannot be drafted without taking into account the terms of the agency agreement, just as the contract with the agent must also be assessed in light of its impact on the player’s sporting relationship with the club.
Conclusion
For clubs and players, the effective management of the contractual relationship now requires an integrated approach, which goes beyond a formal view of individual agreements and allows for an informed navigation of the dynamics surrounding sporting activity .
In practice, this implies a coordinated analysis of the various contractual levels, with particular attention to consistency between the duration of the relationships, the structure of financial incentives and possible future scenarios.
A well-drafted contract is not one that governs the relationship under normal circumstances, but one that maintains balance during periods of heightened negotiation tension.
Consider, for example, medium- to long-term sports contracts accompanied by shorter-term mandates: upon expiry of the mandate, the renewal of the agreement with the agent can become a lever to prompt an early renegotiation with the club. Or consider agent fees linked to future transfer deals, which can incentivise pressure for a transfer even where the contractual relationship remains stable.
Furthermore, it is not uncommon for a renewal, the essential terms of which have already been agreed, to remain on hold due to a lack of agreement on commissions, with direct implications for the club’s planning.
In this context, many critical issues do not stem from obvious errors, but from seemingly marginal misalignments between the sports contract and the mandate, which are bound to emerge precisely at the most delicate moments of the relationship.
The ability to anticipate such scenarios and to structure the relationship in a coherent and sustainable manner is therefore a decisive factor: it is here that the difference between merely formal management and the genuine protection of the parties’ interests is measured.