How TransferRoom is helping players like Gyokeres and Semenyo make waves in football

Viktor Gyokeres is now donning the Arsenal jersey
Viktor Gyokeres is now donning the Arsenal jerseyRodrigo Antunes / Reuters

Every transfer window we see the billion-dollar moves of football stars, but few see behind the digital scenes that drive these deals. A key role is currently played by the closed platform TransferRoom, which is used by hundreds of clubs around the world to negotiate deals. How is this 'technology' fundamentally changing the business of football? That's not the only thing its vice president, Frederik Broholt, talked about on Flashscore's Livesport Daily podcast.

Being a digital platform, it may sound odd to gain success in what is a human-based industry. But, as Broholt explains, TransferRoom is there to bring both parties together, which has led to thousands of transfers.

"Even though TransferRoom is a digital platform, football itself is a very relationship-based and people-based industry. If you think about it, a football club basically invests most of its money in the players that are on the pitch and also in the team around them. So it's one of the businesses or industries with the greatest intensity of interpersonal relationships that you can imagine. And relationships really do play a role in this industry. That's the main reason why we have created live TransferRoom events and deal days on our side.

"It basically means that at these events, clubs and agents get together for one, two or three days to attend dozens of short, scheduled meetings, network, and get the latest information and insights. To some extent, it can also resemble football speed-dating, because sometimes a club will have twenty or thirty interviews in a single day, where you move from one table to another, have 12 or 15 minutes, and then move on."

They are also making history, too, with TransferRoom part of a deal between two unorthodox nations.

He added: "Since 2017, we have facilitated a total of 10,000 transfers and deals... And, jokingly, just the 10,000 number deal, I think, is a very good example of a deal that really made a difference. It was a Colombian striker called Brayan Leon, and he transferred from Independiente Medellin in Colombia to Mamelodi Sundowns in South Africa. The interesting thing is that this is actually the first-ever transfer of a player between the two countries. This is the first time we have made a transfer from Colombia to South Africa. I can't say it would never have happened without TransferRoom, but I can say with confidence that it has happened now thanks to this platform."

They have also been involved in bigger moves. The biggest one could be Viktor Gyokeres. The Swedish international, plying his trade with Coventry, got a big move to Portugal, where he would flourish.

Broholt explained: "If I had to mention a few that resonate the most with football fans or listeners, I would say we helped with the move of Antoine Semenyo from Bristol City to Bournemouth. Now, of course, he's playing for Manchester City, but back then it was this transfer.

"When Gyokeres transferred from Coventry in England to Sporting, that was also a transfer brokered through TransferRoom. And Evander, who moved from Midtjylland to Portland for a then record amount, was also a deal through TransferRoom. There are many, many transfers that most people and listeners can relate to, and then there are transfers that I'm sure you're not as familiar with, but where the TransferRoom platform has done a really good job."

The murky world of football transfers has felt like a closely-guarded secret in the game for some time, but through their platform, TransferRoom have made it easier for clubs to find what they need.

Talking about how the system works, the vice-president told the podcast: "A club has a need, they create a specific advert, another club or agent sees it and offers a player. That's a very clear example. It could also be that two clubs, or a club and an agent, meet at one of our offline events to discuss a player, and then that leads to an actual transfer.

"It could also mean that you see on the platform that a player is available for you, and then you declare your interest in that player, and that's how the conversation starts. So it can come in different shapes or forms, but when we talk about how we've helped 10,000 deals get off the ground, it's because it happened in one of those ways."

That obvious value is important to all parties, and TransferRoom use a subscription service to give access to their clients, not a commission-based project.

Broholt added: "Our model and service are not based on a commission structure. Clubs and agents pay a fee for access to the platform and information. What they're paying for there is the information, the data and access to the decision makers.

"We provide that information in the form of a virtual marketplace, and we are objective in that sense. And we don't care, and I don't mean this in a negative way, but we don't care whether this or that club or player or agent makes a transfer. We don't take any commission on trades. For us, value is created by ensuring that our customers have access to information and to each other. What they do with that information and how they engage is up to them, and we are not paid on commission."

"We wanted to bring a lot more transparency and information to the transfer market, which was otherwise a bit opaque. It depended on who you had in your address book or who you were having lunch with, unless it was some other coincidence that influenced it.

"I think you touch on a very important point because the beauty from our side, and this is confirmed by clubs and agents who use TransferRoom today, is that it really allows decision makers to share information with other clubs and agencies at the touch of a button. Trading or moving players has never been easier than it is now, it used to be pretty opaque."

Broholt was speaking to Jan Denemark for Livesport Daily, the full interview can be heard here via Spotify.

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