In a world where news travels faster than ever before, football fans are spoiled when it comes to hearing the latest news about their teams’ desires and aims in the transfer window. With many sides across the world working hard to secure deals for new players, supporters want to be in the know with every little detail that comes with a transfer. Unfortunately, the details of a transfer are much more complex than people think, and some fans cannot seem to grasp this.
We are now seemingly in an age where supporters think a transfer is as simple as “find a player, bid for him and that’s that”, what’s known by many as a ‘FIFA transfer’, when in fact its intricacies are much more than that. Neymar’s £200m move from Barcelona to PSG in 2017 (above) is regarded as one of the most complex deals in recent times.
Clubs first have to scout the correct players that the manager desires, then figure out how the deal must be best structured financially, while player agents must also get involved to try and broker the deal in the best interests of their player, be it wage-wise, a signing-on fee, goal bonuses and/or contract clauses.
Twitter is without doubt the hub for journalists to release the latest transfer news and Fabrizio Romano, who rose to transfer news popularity when he announced Bruno Fernandes’ move from Sporting CP to Manchester United with his now trademark phrase “here-we-go”, is just one of the names in football journalism that has the now unenviable task of pleasing fans worldwide with up to date information about their teams.
With football itself being a driving force of entertainment for its worldwide supporters, I think the transfer window certainly comes under the same bracket as it leaves fans desiring their dream signing and when multiple journalists report on their team, it leaves them hooked for more.
On the more frustrating side of transfer reporting, you have to feel for journalists such as Romano and David Ornstein who work tirelessly to get the inside information, yet fans at times continue to pester them asking for more news, something that no doubt affects the way journalist report or interact with their followers in the future.
It is understandable that fans get excited when their team is linked with a big name, but sometimes a little patience is perhaps required with the people that are tasked with finding the latest scoop, much like managers will require patience when the club works on finding the most efficient way to get the players they desire.
There is also the danger that fans post information given to them by journalists and make their own story out of it, which has the dangerous potential to damage the reporters’ reputation.
The feeling that people think they know the ins and outs of transfer dealings is seemingly overcoming a lot of social media users and football fans worldwide, but they must remember that the transfer window is not only a means of potential entertainment within football for them, but also a serious business for journalists and people working at clubs that must be respected.
