As is now widely known, Caicedo opted for Chelsea over Liverpool despite the Reds’ £110 million offer.
Additionally, Brighton accepted the bid, and Liverpool was ready to receive the player for a medical. However, the Ecuadorian paused before deciding on Chelsea.
His signing by the London club cost £115 million, making it the largest transaction in the open market. The Declan Rice deal from Arsenal and the Bellingham deal from Real Madrid were both surpassed by the record deal.
According to Football Insider, Caicedo’s agency also received a fee of £10 million as part of the package. The equivalent of that is roughly 10% of Chelsea’s guaranteed £100 million transfer payment.
Although it might not seem like much, it has evolved into a larger pattern in the game. The same was also mentioned by FIFA in its International Transfer Snapshot for the summer transfer window of 2023.
The world’s governing body of football claims that agency fees reached an all-time high of £557 million during the summer transfer window and £684 million for the entire year. That represents a staggering 36 percent growth over the prior year.
Significantly, FIFA will begin enforcing new agent regulations at the beginning of next month, some of which are intended to reduce these “excessive fees.” In light of FSG’s “self-sustaining business model,” Liverpool will be hopeful that these rules will have an impact.
Additionally, transfer fees are ballooning out of control, and related expenses are doing the same. Generational skills are effectively out of reach for Liverpool, at least under the current administration.
Even though Kylian Mbappe might be available for free next season, he might still be out of their price range.
This is primarily because of the agent fees and player expectations that don’t match Liverpool’s capabilities.
Haaland’s transfer to Man City was also funded by his £51 million release clause. However, the extra expenses may have increased the fee to £86 million.
Therefore, there is no question that Liverpool and many other clubs would embrace the new restrictions.
