Karl-Heinz Rummenigge goes down hard on the issue of prosecutors

The renewal of Dayot Upamecano has turned the spotlight on a critical issue that clubs are trying to counter: the role of players’ agents. According to Uli Hoeneß, attorneys demand too much and dictate the rules in negotiations, plus these characters are becoming too influential and their fees are out of proportion to the real contribution they make.

During an interview granted to FIFA official channels, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge went down very hard on the subject: “It makes no sense to create tension and say that we should abolish agents. To me that is nonsense, they cannot be abolished. They are part of this business now and you have to live with it. Unfortunately, we have yet to reach a modus vivendi with them that will prevent what has been happening for years: clubs are becoming more and more dependent on agents and their influence on players is now out of proportion”.

“Because of the very high commissions that are given to the agents, so much money has disappeared from the market because it goes into their pockets. We are all a bit crazy in the transfer market, it is like a rat race. Clubs are obviously willing to do anything to get the players they want or the ones they believe will allow them to play high-quality, successful soccer. We need reforms because things cannot continue. I think we, FIFA, UEFA, consultants, clubs, leagues, need to sit down together and talk to each other openly and honestly to find a solution”.

Rummenigge then also spoke about the issue of the increasingly high salaries that soccer players receive: “We have to be careful not to overdo it, in my opinion we should find shared solutions that can suit all parties involved. Ordinary people go to work eight hours a day for a normal salary, how do we justify players’ salaries? ”.