During his appearance at the ISDE Webinar, included in the ISDE Sports Convention (ISC). Brazilian lawyer Marcos Motta believes that the transfer market for footballers will be “more sophisticated” and “realistic” and invited players and clubs to reach a consensus on the extension of contracts that end on 30th June in order to finish the respective national championships.

“The transfer market is going to change in the coming months, it is going to be more realistic, sophisticated and exceptional. I foresee fewer signings because they are not good for the image of the industry and the transfers will not be sudden,” he said in his talk under the title ‘The challenges of the player transfer system and the role of agents and lawyers in times of COVID-19’.

The founding partner of Bichara e Motta Advogados and professor at ISDE stressed that the relationship between players and clubs “has changed” with the crisis brought about by the pandemic and that, except in the case of big clubs such as Real Madrid, FC Barcelona or Manchester City, “there will be fewer signings” due to the economic consequences of the virus.

“The ‘bubble’ in the world of football has burst. We live in a world of illusion, but this is not the reality. Never in history, since the Second World War, have clubs been in this situation. Ticket sales, merchandising and sponsorship income have fallen… The whole industry has suffered,” he said.

The ISDE professor explained that in the current COVID-19 context, football must “understand”, “learn” and “adapt”. “Understand what is happening; learn from what is happening, and adapt to what is happening. This is not the time to make aggressive moves,” he said.

“FOOTBALL WILL BE THE FIRST INDUSTRY TO COME OUT OF THE CRISIS”.

A board member of the European Football Agents Association (EFAA) and the International Association of Football Lawyers (AIAF), Motta explained that the guidelines of the International Football Federation (FIFA) on the extension of players’ contracts after June 30th “are recommendations”.

“They are not rules because FIFA cannot decide, it is up to the legislative of each country. I can’t conceive of a club extending a contract without the player’s agreement. The important thing is that there is collaboration between the parties, and that it is done in a consensual way, never unilaterally,” he explained.

With nearly 25 years of experience in the world of football and as legal advisor in more than 400 disputes before FIFA and the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), the lawyer predicted that the football industry will be “the first to overcome the economic crisis” caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It is part of the entertainment industry and it is the second most impacted industry by the crisis after tourism. But few bring together the cultural, social and economic worlds like football, and in countries such as Germany, Spain and Brazil they are working to make it the engine to overcome the crisis,” he said.

This is the third ISDE Webinar during the state of health emergency decreed by the COVID-19 pandemic, included in the programme of ISC, the International Congress on Law and the Sports Industry to be held in Madrid and organised by the Instituto Superior de Derecho y Economía (ISDE) in collaboration with LaLiga.

At the other two previous conferences, the Brazilian lawyer Daniel Cravo, expert in sports law at ISDE and member of the Executive Committee of the International Association of Football Lawyers (AIAF), and the director of the Women’s Football Area of LaLiga, Pedro Malabia, took part.

ABOUT ISDE SPORTS CONVENTION

ISDE Sports Convention is the largest international congress on sports law and industry, organised by the Instituto Superior de Derecho y Economía (ISDE), with the support of La Liga. Nearly 600 congress participants took part in the 2019 edition, held at the headquarters of Banco Santander in Madrid and attended by the president of LaLiga, Javier Tebas, as well as the president of the Board of Directors of Real Valladolid, Ronaldo Nazario, the three-time world boxing champion Joana Pastrana and the Olympic badminton champion, Carolina Marín.

ABOUT ISDE

Created in 1992, the Instituto Superior de Derecho y Economía (ISDE) is an academic institution dedicated to legal training of the highest level, forged by the union of representatives of the main national and international law firms. Its aim is to train professionals and recent graduates to join the best firms in the market. ISDE’s curricula are designed by practising professionals to ensure that they are up to date and practically applicable, and its commitment is to prepare professionals for senior management positions.