How to value football players? Lessons from Newell’s Old Boys v AS Roma CAS Decision

This article discusses a recent CAS decision which highlighted different and competing methodologies that can be utilised when valuing football players. The case deals with a dispute over an alleged circumvention by a football club of a sell-on clause agreed in a transfer agreement.

The decision is interesting as it shows the difficulty in applying objective criteria to a subjectively valued and open market transaction.

Article Highlights

• Introduction
• Facts
• FIFA PSC Decision
• Appeal before CAS
• Methodologies for valuing a football player
  • The CIES Report
  • Ongaro’s Report
• Considerations of the Sole Arbitrator
  • Assessment of the value of Romagnoli and the related salary
• Conclusion

Introduction

The summer registration period in 2023 witnessed football clubs across the world spend a record total of USD 7.36bn in transfer fees.^[1] Such fees generate passionate debate among fans and the press in relation to the value of the players transferring. Transfer compensation paid or sought is dependent on a number of factors, such as the age of a player, the remaining term of a contract, the position of the player and the needs of the respective clubs involved.

Newer and more stringent financial regulations (the Profit and Sustainability Rules (“PSR”) of the English Premier League being one ruleset which has generated a lot of speculation in relation to its impact on transfers) have led to heightened commentary of what football player’s ‘value’ is. The PSR reporting deadline resulted in commentary in respect of a number of ‘convenient’ transactions taking place in June. These factors, applicable legislation and more inform the negotiations and the eventual compensation paid.

While the total spend in the 2024 summer registration period is reported to be lower^[2],^[3] the focus on the sums paid and the structure of deals has heightened, as clubs, players and agents navigate an increasingly complex regulatory landscape. There are, naturally, a number of disputes resulting from every registration period, entailing a number of problems in establishing the so-called ‘market’ or ‘fair’ value of a player whose transfer results in a dispute.

An interesting CAS decision (in the case CAS 2020/A/7612 Club Atlético Newell’s Old Boys v. AS Roma and the FIFA decision which preceded it^[4]), highlights the competing methodologies utilised in the valuation of football players and the difficulties in applying objective criteria to a subjectively valued, open market, transaction.

This CAS decision is available here and the FIFA Player Status Committee (“PSC”) is available here.

Please note that the authors acted for AS Roma in this case and the preceding FIFA matter.