Footballs Secret Trade: How the Player Transfer Market was Infiltrated

PRAISE FOR FOOTBALL′S SECRET TRADE

"Nobody knows more about football′s underbelly than Alex Duff and Tariq Panja. This hugely important book sheds light on the shadows of the game we all love."
Rory Smith, European soccer correspondent, New York Times

"A fascinating insight into the murky finances, backroom deals and shadowy figures that lie behind football′s glamorous façade."
Jonathan Wilson, journalist and author of the award–winning football book Inverting the Pyramid

"Both authors have been preeminent in the investigations of world football′s secret ′third party ownership′ deals. They have untangled a web of intrigue which always has money at its core."
Martyn Ziegler, chief sports reporter, The Times of London

"Tariq Panja is a top–rank journalist, always thorough and far–reaching in his research. Here, he and Alex Duff apply their considerable skills to unpicking the opaque world of ′third party ownership′ in football."
David Conn, sports writer, The Guardian; author of The Beautiful Game? Searching for the Soul of Football

"The authors expertly guide you through the dark maze of football finance."
Stephen Wade, sports correspondent, Associated Press – Rio de Janeiro

"Bravo! Duff and Panja have done us all a service by shining a bright light on football′s underbelly, the practices that reduce humans to horseflesh and football club finances to a casino."
Stefan Szymanski, professor of sports management, Michigan University; co–author Soccernomics

Acknowledgments

About the Authors

Prologue

Chapter 1: The Son of Jesus

Chapter 2: The Chess Champion

Chapter 3: The British tax exile

Chapter 4: An East End Scandal

Chapter 5: The Prime Minister s Men

Chapter 6: The 100–to–1 Shot

Chapter 7: The Switzerland of South America

Chapter 8: Todo Pasa

Chapter 9: Buenos Aires to Manchester

Chapter 10: I Want 40% for the Boy

Chapter 11: The Pharmacist s Medicine

Chapter 12: Working on a Dream

Chapter 13: The Baur au Lac

Chapter 14: The End Game?

Epilogue

Bibliography

Index

ALEX DUFF is a senior communications expert for FIFPro, the international football players′ union. He has worked as a reporter for UK newspapers and Associated Press in Rio de Janeiro and Bloomberg News in Madrid. He has exposed the business workings behind some of the biggest names in sport, including tennis player Rafael Nadal and the Amaury family, which owns the Tour de France.

TARIQ PANJA has worked as a reporter for the Manchester Evening News, Associated Press and Bloomberg News in London and Rio de Janeiro. He has broken news on some of the biggest stories in soccer, including the takeover of Liverpool, Manchester United′s float on the New York Stock exchange and the unprecedented scandal that threatened to bring down FIFA. After covering Brazil′s bumpy journey towards hosting the World Cup and Summer Olympics, Tariq has returned to the UK and is once again based in London.