Originally posted by Gazza:
<strong>Antohan, do you know when his contract is up?</strong><hr></blockquote>
Couldn't tell right now. I know both him and River expected him to leave during XMAS which, probably due to the state of the transfer market, hasn't happened. River must be quite desperate as it is a lot of money for them, they were counting with it and they need it. He will certainly go this Summer so it won't go down to his contract.
In fact, the "out of contract" issue here in SAM is not the same as in Europe. It's no longer "slavery" but it hasn't turned into the mercenary/opportunistic approach that the Bosman ruling has created there.
Agents/businessmen invest in a "player's rights" and they "own" him (a percentage) even if not under contract with a specific club. That is, a player can be tied up to a certain degree to an agent who calls the shots even if the contract with River was up.
My point being, it is rarely the player getting the windfall from being out of contract but they still get all the "traitor/mercenary" stick if they don't extend it. A completely different set of incentives!
Furthermore, the person owning the "rights" is not necessarily an agent but -in Argentina in particular- a businessman linked to the club (e.g. Macri, millionaire President of Boca Jrs.) who invests in the player to bring them to the club and are therefore loyal to it. They know they will make some money eventually, which is great but they will not screw the club in the process.
