Jesse Bisiwu signed a contract with FC Barcelona until 2031 last week. With this transfer to FC Barcelona the talented player takes an important step in his career and opens a new chapter at the Catalan club.
Everest Sports Law is proud to have advised Jesse Bisiwu and Gersh Football Benelux (A-Group / You First) on the legal side of this transfer. An international transfer asks for careful legal handling, so that every party involved reaches a good outcome.
We thank Gersh Football Benelux (A-Group / You First) for the pleasant cooperation and we congratulate Jesse and FC Barcelona on the agreement. We wish Jesse every success in Barcelona.
An international transfer runs under the regulations of the FIFA transfer system as well as under the contract itself. Everest Sports Law advises players, clubs and agents on international transfers and FIFA regulations.
What a transfer to FC Barcelona involves on the legal side
A move from a Belgian club to a foreign club is not one agreement but several, signed in a fixed order and dependent on one another. Getting that order wrong is what makes transfers fail late.
The three agreements
The first is the employment contract between the player and the new club: term, salary, bonuses, image rights and the conditions under which either side may end it early. The second is the transfer agreement between the two clubs, which sets the compensation, the payment schedule and any further amounts that fall due when conditions are met, such as a number of appearances or a later resale. The third is the representation agreement between the player and the agent, which fixes the mandate and the fee. Each of these refers to the others, so a change in one has consequences for the rest.
Registration and the international transfer certificate
A player cannot simply appear on a foreign team sheet. The new club has to register the player with its own association, and that association has to request an international transfer certificate from the association the player is leaving. Without that certificate the registration does not take place and the player cannot play. The request runs between the associations rather than between the clubs, and it depends on the former club releasing the player properly. That is why an unresolved dispute with the former club, even one about money, can block a move that has otherwise been agreed.
Young players and the protection rules
International transfers of minors are restricted as a matter of principle, with a narrow set of exceptions, and each exception has to be established with documents before a registration is approved. Where a player is under age, the file has to be prepared well in advance and the parents have to be party to the agreements. A club that assumes an exception applies, without holding the paperwork, discovers the problem at registration.
Training compensation and solidarity
Clubs that trained a young player are entitled to compensation when that player moves internationally, and a further mechanism distributes part of a transfer fee among the clubs where the player played in earlier years. These amounts are calculated on the history of the player rather than negotiated between the two clubs, and the new club owes them. Both sides should establish the figure before signature, because it changes the real cost of the transaction.
What a player should check
Read what happens if the move does not go through: whether the employment contract only takes effect once registration is confirmed, and what applies if the certificate is delayed. Check which law governs the contract and which body decides a dispute. Check how the salary is paid, in which country, and who carries the tax and social security charges. And confirm that the fee of the agent, and who pays it, is recorded in writing before anything is signed.