Legal support for football transfers

The case in brief

• Area: Sports law
• Practice: Football transfers, sports law, international contract law
• Client: FCI Levadia Tallinn (Estonia)
• Outcome: successful support for international transfers of professional footballers that brought the club more than EUR 1 million in transfer and commercial income
• Attorney’s role: full legal and negotiation support for the transfer agreements

The substance of the project

Attorney Dmytro Shkrebets has substantial practical experience in sports law and international football transfers. While working at FCI Levadia Tallinn, he provided comprehensive legal support for transfers of professional footballers between clubs in different countries and coordinated the negotiations among all participants in the transfer projects.

The work covered the full cycle of transfer support, from the initial negotiations and agreement of commercial terms through to the final documents and completion of the registration procedures in line with international football regulations.

A particular feature of these projects is the need to take account, at the same time, of the interests of the club, the footballer, the agents, and the other parties to the deal, and to comply with the regulations of FIFA, UEFA, and the national football associations.

Risks in international football transfers

An international football transfer is a complex multi-party transaction involving several independent parties, each with its own financial and sporting interests.

For a club, the main risks are the loss of potential transfer income, inadequate contractual terms, disputes over payments or compensation, and the risk of breaching football regulations.

For a footballer, the risks may concern the terms of the personal contract, the timing of the move, registration with the new club, and guarantees that the agreed terms will be performed.

The international character of these deals must also be taken into account, because transfer projects often span several jurisdictions and require coordination among clubs, agents, and football federations in different countries.

Legal support for football transfers

While working at FCI Levadia Tallinn, Dmytro Shkrebets provided full legal support for the transfer projects.

His tasks included:

• conducting negotiations between clubs;
• dealing with footballers and agents;
• preparing the transfer documents;
• agreeing the financial terms of the deals;
• analysing sporting and commercial risks;
• supporting international moves in line with the FIFA and UEFA regulations;
• coordinating the interaction of all participants in the transfer process.

Particular attention was given to structuring the deals so that they delivered not only a sporting result but also the greatest economic effect for the club.

Transfers of professional footballers

With the direct involvement of Dmytro Shkrebets, the club successfully completed a number of international transfer deals.

Among them:

• the transfer of Yvan Dibango to Kryvbas;
• the transfer of Mollo Bessala to LNZ Cherkasy;
• the transfer of Ernest Agyiri to Randers FC;
• the transfer of Heitor to ETO Győr FC;
• the transfer of Ioan Yakovlev to Panionios Athens;
• the transfer of Felipe Felicio to Panionios Athens.

Each of these projects required a separate analysis of the deal structure, agreement of the terms between the parties, and proper legal documentation of the footballer’s move.

A particular feature of the Felipe Felicio transfer

One of the most interesting projects was the transfer of Felipe Felicio to the Greek club Panionios Athens.

At the time of the negotiations, the footballer was playing for FCI Levadia Tallinn on loan from the Brazilian club Clube Atletico Mineiro.

Given the structure of the legal relations between the parties, there was a risk that the Estonian club would receive no additional economic benefit from the further development of the footballer’s career after his time at the club ended.

As a result of the negotiations and the agreed contractual terms, FCI Levadia Tallinn secured the right to receive a share of the proceeds of the footballer’s future transfer if he was later sold by the Brazilian club.

That solution significantly increased the commercial value of the deal and created a potential source of future income for the club.

Negotiation strategy and international football regulation

In modern professional football, the success of a transfer depends not only on the legal documentation but also on a properly built negotiation strategy.

Each party to a transfer has its own aims: the club seeks the greatest economic benefit, the footballer the best conditions for developing a career, and the agents and intermediaries a successful completion of the deal.

That is why legal support for football transfers requires not only knowledge of sports law but also the skill to conduct complex international negotiations.

In carrying out these projects, Dmytro Shkrebets coordinated the interaction among clubs, agents, federations, and the other participants in the transfer process, which made it possible to achieve the objectives effectively.

The outcome of the project

Thanks to comprehensive legal and negotiation support, all the transfer deals were successfully completed in line with international football regulations.

During Dmytro Shkrebets’s work at FCI Levadia Tallinn, the club concluded a number of transfer deals that together generated more than EUR 1 million in transfer and related commercial income.

All the projects were supported from the initial stage of negotiations through to the full completion of the transfers, including agreement of the legal and financial terms and dealings with agents, football clubs, and federations.

Why this case matters

This case shows that a modern football transfer is not only a sporting event but also a complex legal and commercial project.

A properly structured transfer agreement can give a club not only immediate income from the footballer’s move but also additional financial advantages in the future.

The practice also confirms the importance of involving lawyers who have experience with sports law, the FIFA transfer regulations, and international football contracts.