In this contribution by Maheta Molango, CEO of the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA), and Penri Jones, Director of Legal at the PFA, the focus shifts to the legal status of players as workers and its implications for the regulation of the football labour market. Against the backdrop of recent CJEU case-law, in particular Diarra, the article questions whether the current framework properly reconciles contractual stability with the fundamental rights attached to the employment relationship.