In a dramatic intervention just hours before the transfer window closes, super-agent Rafaela Pimenta has issued a powerful call for fundamental changes to football's transfer system. The qualified lawyer, whose most high-profile client is Manchester City striker Erling Haaland, argues that the current setup gives clubs far too much power, leaving players feeling like "hostages" in negotiations.
The Voice of Change in Football Representation
Rafaela Pimenta, 53, inherited Haaland as a client months before his blockbuster 2022 move to Manchester City from Borussia Dortmund, following the death of legendary agent Mino Raiola almost four years ago. Beyond representing the Norwegian goal machine, Pimenta's client roster includes Liverpool head coach Arne Slot, along with Manchester United defenders Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui.
Speaking exclusively to the BBC on the eve of transfer deadline day, Pimenta delivered a stark assessment of modern football's power dynamics. "There needs to be a change; there's too much power for clubs, players are sometimes hostages of situations," she declared. "I'm not fighting for chaos; we need the transfer system to make the whole thing work, but we need more balance."
The Human Cost of Football's Business Evolution
Pimenta painted a vivid picture of the emotional toll exacted by the current system, particularly during transfer windows. "We are in a transfer window, and I can bet you, because I see it at the end of every window, somebody will cry," she revealed. "There's always a player crying because he could have gone, needed to go, and a club said they want £1m more."
The super-agent contrasted today's environment with what she described as a more humane past in football relationships. "Football used to be more human; a football director or an owner would have a special relationship with the player. If a player went to them and said, 'Please, I need to go,' they would find a solution."
Pimenta expressed concern about players becoming dehumanised within increasingly corporate structures. "Today, football is becoming so much of a business that there is a risk that players become an asset on the balance sheet; an asset has no voice, no feelings, no human needs," she warned. "The challenge is to find a balance between the asset and the human being."
Legal Challenges to the Transfer Status Quo
Pimenta's comments come against a backdrop of significant legal scrutiny of football's transfer regulations. Last October, the European Court of Justice delivered a landmark ruling that found certain FIFA transfer rules to be anti-competitive and in violation of European Union laws regarding freedom of movement.
The judgments followed a lawsuit brought by former professional footballer Lassana Diarra, who claimed damages over a failed transfer attempt in 2014. The court's findings represent the most substantial legal challenge to football's transfer framework in decades.
Global Football Bodies React to Legal Ruling
FIFPRO, the worldwide representative organisation for professional footballers, welcomed the European Court of Justice's conclusions with considerable enthusiasm. In an official statement, they declared: "The European Court of Justice has ruled that a central part of the FIFA transfer system, in place since 2001, constitutes a restriction of competition by object and a violation of the free movement of workers."
The organisation added: "On behalf of professional football players worldwide, FIFPRO welcomes these findings. The ECJ has just handed down a major ruling on the regulation of the labour market in football (and, more generally, in sport), which will change the landscape of professional football."
FIFA, football's global governing body, offered a more measured response to the judicial decision. Through an official spokesperson, the organisation stated: "FIFA is satisfied that the legality of key principles of the transfer system have been reconfirmed in [this] ruling. The ruling only puts in question two paragraphs of two articles of the FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players, which the national court is now invited to consider."
The spokesperson concluded: "FIFA will analyse the decision in coordination with other stakeholders before commenting further."
The Broader Implications for Football's Future
Pimenta's passionate plea for reform, combined with recent legal developments, suggests football may be approaching a watershed moment regarding how transfers are conducted. The super-agent's unique position—representing both elite players like Haaland and high-profile managers like Slot—gives her perspective particular weight within football's power structures.
As transfer windows become increasingly dramatic and financially driven, the calls for greater balance between club interests and player welfare appear to be gaining momentum. Whether Pimenta's intervention will spark immediate changes remains uncertain, but her timing—just hours before deadline day—ensures her message will resonate throughout football's corridors of power.
The coming months will reveal whether football's governing bodies, clubs, and player representatives can find the equilibrium Pimenta advocates for, or whether the current system will face further legal and ethical challenges in what has become a multi-billion pound global industry.
