In professional
association football
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
, a free
transfer
Transfer may refer to:
Arts and media
* ''Transfer'' (2010 film), a German science-fiction movie directed by Damir Lukacevic and starring Zana Marjanović
* ''Transfer'' (1966 film), a short film
* ''Transfer'' (journal), in management studies
...
, also known as a
Bosman transfer, involves a professional association football club releasing a player when the player's
contract
A contract is a legally enforceable agreement between two or more parties that creates, defines, and governs mutual rights and obligations between them. A contract typically involves the transfer of goods, services, money, or a promise to tran ...
has expired or made available just before the end of the contract. The player can then go on to sign for any club offering a contract to them.
How it works
The club acquiring the player does not have to pay any
compensation for their release due to having nothing left to pay on their contract, hence, the term free transfer. Some individual leagues have restrictions to protect academies. For example, in the UK, players under 24 who are out of contract are only available on a free transfer if released by the club holding the players' licence.
Another type of free transfer is when a player is transferred from one club to another for no price, sometimes a transfer for a
nominal fee
A nominal fee refers to a sale of a good or service for far less than it is actually worth, when it cannot be given away for free. Typically, such a sale will be for the smallest full denomination of a currency (for example, one dollar). Nominal f ...
is credited as a free transfer.
With six months or less remaining on an existing contract for players aged 23 or older, they are free to negotiate with other clubs and sign a pre-contract agreement, indicating their ability to move to their intended club on a
Bosman transfer when the next transfer window opens.
Usage
Free transfers are common in all strata of football. From leagues where money is less commonly available for clubs to spend on transfer fees, and also for players to leave wealthy clubs on a free transfer if the club cannot offer first team football, especially when departing for clubs in lower leagues.
Often, a player will opt to 'run down' their contract with one club so that they may join another for free subsequently. This makes them a more attractive proposition for the club the player seeks to join, and the lack of a
transfer fee
Transfer may refer to:
Arts and media
* ''Transfer'' (2010 film), a German science-fiction movie directed by Damir Lukacevic and starring Zana Marjanović
* ''Transfer'' (1966 film), a short film
* ''Transfer'' (journal), in management studies
...
being paid by the receiving club is often reflected in a more lucrative salary for the player than had they been purchased. A good example of this would be
Sol Campbell
Sulzeer Jeremiah Campbell (born 18 September 1974) is an English professional football manager and former player who was most recently the manager of club Southend United. He previously managed Macclesfield Town from November 2018 to August ...
's move from
Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional association football, football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English footba ...
to north-London rivals
Arsenal
An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...
.
See also
*
Free agent
In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...
*
Free agent (football)
In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...
*
Reserve clause
The reserve clause, in North American professional sports, was part of a player contract which stated that the rights to players were retained by the team upon the contract's expiration. Players under these contracts were not free to enter into ano ...
*
Transfer (association football)
In professional football, a transfer is the action taken whenever a player under contract moves between clubs. It refers to the transferring of a player's registration from one association football club to another. In general, the players can onl ...
References
Terminology used in multiple sports
Association football terminology
Association football transfers
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