Some sage words have come out of Gary Neville’s poorly bearded mouth regarding the role of agents in football, as the Manchester United captain reckons we could just do away with the whole profession,
He told Sky Sports News: ‘I’d like to see the removal of agents from the game – make players not so reliant on them.
‘We’ve got the PFA – and they want to give, not take.’
Asked if there were any good agents, he said: ‘I don’t know many. There is a concern for me, and it always has been.
‘Our guy can go in [to a deal] and expect to be giving hundreds of thousands or, in this day and age, even millions [to an agent] – and that money is going out of the game.
‘The clubs should keep that money – or, if they’re earning it, the players.’
He added: ‘It won’t change until players become more responsible for their actions.
‘They think they need them – but it’s not the case.
‘They need good advice and good accountants – but they don’t need people taking hundreds of thousands off them.’
Makes sense, anyone whose played half an hour of Football Manager should be able to negotiate a contract pretty convincingly. And any money the player is losing from not having a professional negotiator by his side will probably be made up by not having to pay any agent fees.
Unsurprisingly, Agent Mel Stein has tried to defend his vile brethren,
‘I hear what Gary Neville says about the PFA – but they are a trade union, generally ex professional footballers.
‘If you’re buying a house would you want a bricklayer to do the conveyancing for you?’
We don’t really know what he’s on about with the bricklaying, but we’re guessing it’s an analogy for how thick the PFA is.