Does the football transfer system undermine the free movement of workers? Doesn’t the development of player “trading” lead clubs to adopt positions that could contradict the principles of French labor law? The tug-of-war this summer between París Saint-Germain and its employee and “star player” Kylian Mbappé begs the question. This article aims to summarize it.
FIFA, the world football’s governing body, enacts lex sportiva through its regulations. Among these regulations, the Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players (FIFA RSTP) are of paramount importance since they organize the transfer of players between clubs of national federations while regulating contractual stability and, consequently, the early termination of employment contracts. Within this FIFA framework in mind, clubs, players and agents have gradually built up a “labor market(s)” through contractual techniques. Freedom has taken root, when the RSTP do not prevent it.
The “reason” behind the existence of such a market is, indeed, interesting. In fact, it is not just a question of matching supply and demand for players (which has become a decisive...
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