Third-party ownership of players has been described as a form of “slavery” and has been banned by the Football Association since 2008.
It involves a third party, such as a company or an agent, owning all or part of the financial rights to a player.
The practice means the third party, as well as the club, benefits from transfer fees every time that the player is sold.
Third-party ownership came to prominence in England in 2007 when it was discovered West Ham had broken Premier League rules over the signings of Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano. The economic rights of Tevez and Mascherano (above) were part-owned by two off-shore companies.
The Premier League concluded this was a breach of existing rules, banning third parties from having influence over the transfers of players and the Hammers were fined £5.5million.
Third-party ownership was banned by the FA at the start of the 2008-09 season.
The Premier League concluded that the practice “raises too many issues over the integrity of competition” and “the development of young players”.
A global ban on third-party ownership of players was introduced by Fifa in 2015.
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