Ten of the strangest contract clauses in football

Launch clauses, buy-back choices and sell-on agreements are all customary components of a modern-day soccer contract.

However sometimes some actually baffling stipulations are squeezed into the small print of offers handed out by the Premier League’s most elite golf equipment.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain famously had a clause in his Arsenal deal that meant the Gunners must pay his former membership Southampton £10,000 each time he performed 20 minutes or extra.

Spanish outlet El Mundo revealed final 12 months the stipulations Messi demanded to stick with Barcelona again in 2020, which included a non-public jet for his household to fly again to Argentina at Christmas, and a shared govt field on the Nou Camp for each his household and Luis Suarez’s.

“It amuses me. It’s one thing very regular in any participant. Suarez advised Marca in September.

“That’s why all this hypothesis amuses me. Really, Leo’s factor was to attempt to make life simpler for the membership as a result of, being shared by our two households, it was only a field.

“It was harder for Barca if Suarez had one and Messi had one other [laughs].”

So if by Suarez’s logic that Messi’s contract calls for have been regular, let’s run by some others that definitively weren’t…

Spencer Prior

Cardiff Metropolis’s eccentric former proprietor Sam Hamman was famend for the distinctive clauses he added into his gamers contracts.

And none extra so than Prior’s signing from Manchester Metropolis was conditional on him consuming sheep’s testicles – a delicacy in Hamman’s homeland Lebanon.

He stated: “It have to be the strangest contract within the historical past of soccer. However I’ll strive something as soon as.”

Prior did certainly eat the dish with a pinch of salt, lemon and just a little parsley… earlier than it was later revealed that he was in truth served slow-cooked rooster!

Stefan Schwarz

The previous Arsenal participant was dedicated to signing up for one of many first industrial flights to house when he joined Sunderland from Valencia in 1999.

Nevertheless, the Black Cats have been much less eager on this concept and inserted a clause in Schwarz’s contract that might nullify his deal ought to he depart the planet.

Sunderland’s then-chief govt, John Fickling, stated: “One in all Schwarz’s advisers has, certainly, acquired one of many locations on the industrial flights.

“And we have been anxious that he might want to take Stefan together with him. So we thought we’d higher get issues tied up now somewhat than on the time of the flight.”

Giuseppe Reina

The German thought he was onto a winner when he advised Arminia Bielefeld to construct him a home for yearly of his deal when he signed in 1996.

The membership agreed to his calls for however made certain to take Reina at his phrase as he by no means specified the dimensions or sort of property he needed each season.

Bielefeld ended up constructing a home for his or her new striker out of LEGO for annually of his three-year contract – not one of the best ways to maintain him joyful however humorous nonetheless.

Rolf-Christel Guie-Mien

Quite a lot of footballers are searching for his or her household’s finest pursuits when signing a brand new take care of a membership however Guie-Mien took it one step additional.

The Congolese worldwide instructed Eintracht Frankfurt to rearrange cooking courses for his spouse as a part of his deal to hitch them in 1999.

The midfielder was insistent that his other-half’s improved culinary abilities would assist him settle into German soccer higher.

Dennis Bergkamp

The Arsenal legend earned the nickname ‘Non-Flying Dutchman’ throughout his time in north London for his clause stopping aeroplane journey.

Bergkamp first publicly admitted his concern of flying throughout his debut marketing campaign on the Gunners, with the choice costing him £100,000 in pay.

The Ajax icon selected to journey by prepare or different modes of transport wherever doable and missed many away European video games because of this.

He elaborated on his concern in his autobiography, revealing that his expertise of small planes at Inter Milan was the principle cause behind his phobia.

Luis Suarez

The mercurial Uruguayan’s previous behaviour prompted Barcelona so as to add in a ‘no biting’ clause when he they agreed a deal to signal the striker from Liverpool.

Suarez was already banned when he arrived on the Nou Camp in 2014 for taking a chomp out of Giorgio Chiellini in the course of the World Cup that summer time.

He additionally took bites out of PSV Eindhoven star Otman Bakkal and Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic throughout his time at Ajax and Liverpool respectively.

Ex-Barca president Josep Maria Bartomeu denied the existence of a clause on the time however he has since been accused of mendacity concerning the membership’s monetary state by his successor Joan Laporta.

Mario Balotelli

The enigmatic Italian additionally necessitated the inclusion of contract clauses surrounding his dangerous behaviour – in a deal involving Suarez!

Balotelli was earmarked as the person Liverpool trusted to switch the Premier League’s prime scorer in 2014 after AC Milan had determined to dump him.

However the Reds had issues about Tremendous Mario following tales of throwing darts at folks and almost burning his home down with fireworks.

Subsequently, Liverpool put conduct clause in his contract stating that he’d have to depart the membership if he stepped out of line.

Roberto Firmino

The Liverpool trifecta finishes with the Brazilian ahead in a switch as soon as once more put in movement by Atletico Madrid striker Suarez.

Reds proprietor John W Henry was incensed by Arsenal’s notorious £40million + £1 bid to poach the now-34-year-old from Anfield in 2013.

And the billionaire American was clearly nonetheless smarting on the try two years later when Liverpool agreed a deal to signal Firmino from Hoffenheim.

The 31-year-old’s contract with the Merseysiders carried a €98million (£82.5m) launch clause ‘if the membership will not be Arsenal’.

Ronaldinho

The previous Ballon d’Or winner was an exception to a typical nightclub clause in his contract – in that his allowed him to proceed partying.

Removed from encouraging Ronaldinho to not go clubbing and concentrate on his soccer, the Brazil icon had a unique agenda when he left AC Milan in 2011.

The 42-year-old had Flamengo stipulate in his contract that he was allowed to hit the city twice per week with out getting a nice or different repercussions.

Neil Ruddock

Crystal Palace had a determined measure to make sure ‘Razor’ was in form when he arrived a Selhurst Park in direction of the tip of his profession.

Ex-Eagles chairman Simon Jordan wrote in his autobiography: “On approaching West Ham I found he was a free switch, though he did have a weighty wage — which was not the one weighty factor about him.

“Harry Redknapp, the West Ham supervisor on the time, advised me to place in a weight clause.

“So I made a decision to place a ten per cent penalty on the contract we have been proposing to supply him if he was over the really helpful weight of 99.8kg, which by the best way was nonetheless frigging enormous.”