The beginning of the end for overpaid, interfering football agents? That’s how it felt when Kevin De Bruyne negotiated a new £20.8 million salary at Manchester City without a middleman. Not one single fan heard the news of the Belgium playmaker’s new £83.2 million four-year deal and dabbed at the corner of their eye in sympathy for the commission lost to whoever the lucky agent might have been. Premier League clubs have handed over £272 million to agents over the past 12 months and here was one of the division’s most coveted and elegant players handling his own business.
If De Bruyne can do it, why not all players? Just think of the money saved, the mind games ended, the speculation nullified. Football would be so much more grown up, wouldn’t it, without the likes of Mino Raiola hinting at why his clients deserve more? Raiola, incidentally, represents Erling Haaland, who is reportedly close to joining De Bruyne at City, and the fun and games Raiola has been having, making sure all the clubs interested in Haaland know they are not alone in courting him, are playing out in stark contrast to the quiet, studious negotiations De Bruyne has had with his club. Raiola is the pantomime villain while the Belgian is the understated hero.
There is no useful morality tale at work here, however. De Bruyne is the only player in England who could have walked the agent-free road without taking a risk. The 29-year-old wanted to remain at City and the club wanted him to stay. The hierarchy could afford to pay him more and there was no risk whatsoever of them suddenly deciding they should sell him to shore up the coffers.
If, at some point during the contract talks, the owners had needed or desired to sell their prize asset before he hits 30, to cash in on his evident qualities, then he would have been in hot water. An agent at this juncture could have pulled together an exit strategy that would have served his client well rather than left him powerless or dismayed.
De Bruyne was not quite alone, either. His father helped, as did his lawyer, providing back-up for the tricky small print. De Bruyne is also on the books of Roc Nation Sports, a management agency that describes itself as a “movement” that aims to give clients a legacy beyond their immediate talents. Roc Nation helped Marcus Rashford when the Manchester United striker successfully took on the government over the issue of child poverty.
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It is not ridiculous to suggest that De Bruyne, his family and Roc Nation might have thought about how this no-agent negotiation would play out in the court of public opinion.
It has played out well enough that it could tip the scales when it comes to voting for the player of the season. The danger is that the City vote will be split given that a strong case can be made for half the team as to why they are storming to the title, but in turning self-made businessman, De Bruyne has illustrated what a level-headed, intelligent person he is alongside his on-field brilliance.
It matters to the narrative that De Bruyne made a formal complaint against his previous agent, which led to the arrest last summer of Patrick De Koster for forgery and money laundering relating to the midfielder’s move from Chelsea to Wolfsburg in 2014.
Not every player suffers such problems with their agent. Most work extremely hard on behalf of their clients who, after all, have short careers that can often be cut shorter by injury and need someone fighting for them to enjoy an acceptable level of job security.
However, there are plenty of agents who put money first rather than thinking about where their client would feel most comfortable and happy, but the player and his family have to take responsibility for this as it is they who decide what type of person represents them. Pushy parents will often stay pushy even if their offspring succeeds.
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Perhaps, though, the most engaging part of the contract negotiations is that De Bruyne commissioned data analysts to provide empirical evidence of his importance to Pep Guardiola’s team.
The idea that he was telling the club things they did not know is rather amusing and you can picture executives leaving the PowerPoint presentation nodding in astonishment, saying: “Well, I had no idea, did you see how he set up that Raheem Sterling goal? And how about those two assists and a pre-assist in one game? We need to hang on to this one.”
