Understanding who pays a FIFA-licensed football agent is one of the most important and most misunderstood questions for anyone navigating the representation industry. This understanding is important when you consider the amount a FIFA football agent is paid every year.

In 2025, FIFA recorded that clubs in men’s professional football spent a record USD 1.37 billion on agent service fees, an increase of over 90% compared to the previous cycle.

The major question worth asking is: who actually pays a FIFA licensed agent for the services they provide?

Under the FIFA Football Agent Regulations (FFAR), the answer depends on who the agent’s client is.

A football agent may represent a player, a coach, a club seeking to engage a player or coach, or a club seeking to release a player. There is therefore no single answer that says clubs always pay agents or players always pay their agents.

To understand who makes the payment, you first need to understand the principle behind FIFA’s rules.

Who Pays Football Agent: The Client Pays Principle (Article 14)

Article 14(2) of the FFAR establishes the Client Pays Principle. The person or entity that engages the football agent is responsible for paying the agent’s service fee.

This was a deliberate departure from the old industry norm, where clubs routinely paid agents on behalf of players. FIFA’s goal was greater transparency, reduced conflicts of interest, and greater awareness among players of the true cost of representation.

Scenario 1: When the Football Agent Represents a Player or Coach

When a FIFA-licensed football agent represents a player or coach in contract or transfer negotiations, the player or coach is the client and is therefore responsible for paying the football agent’s fee, not the club or any other party.

There is, however, an exception to the Client Pays principle under Article 14(2) of the FFAR.

Where the player’s or coach’s negotiated annual remuneration, excluding conditional payments, is less than USD 200,000, the engaging club may agree to pay the agent’s fee on the player’s behalf. In such cases, the payment does not come out of the player’s wages, as the club covers it separately.

The arrangement cannot, however, affect the agent’s duty to act in the player’s best interests. Once the annual salary crosses the USD 200,000 threshold, the player must pay the agent from their own pocket. Clubs are generally prohibited from covering the fee on the player’s behalf above this threshold.

Scenario 2: When the Football Agent Represents the Club

Clubs also engage FIFA licensed agents when they need to buy or sell a player. In these cases, the club pays.

Where the agent represents an engaging club, the club pays the football agent for services related to signing a player, with the fee calculated as a percentage of the player’s remuneration.

Where the agent represents a releasing club, the club pays the football agent a percentage of the transfer compensation, set at 10%, for facilitating the sale.

Scenario 3: When the Agent Represents Both the Player and the Club

The FFAR permits certain forms of dual representation. Where an agent represents both the player and the engaging club, the agent receives service fees from both the player and the club, calculated according to the applicable percentage of the player’s remuneration.

For dual representation to be valid, both clients must provide prior written consent.

It is important to note that an agent cannot represent both the selling club and the player in the same transaction, or both the selling club and the buying club, or all three parties simultaneously. Such arrangements are prohibited in order to protect against conflicts of interest.

The Current Position on the Client Pays Rule under FFAR

Article 14(2) on the Client Pays rule formed part of the suspended provisions of the FFAR. On 16 July 2026, the Court of Justice of the European Union delivered its judgment in RRC Sports (C-209/23).

While the Court recognised that key elements of the FFAR, including the Client Pays principle and service fee caps, can be justified, it left the final determination to the referring national court.

With FIFA continuing to consider the practical implications of that judgment and in ongoing discussions with agent representatives to reach a consensus, agents must understand how those rules currently apply within their relevant jurisdiction.

Frequently Asked Questions on Who Pays a Football Agent

Q: Who pays the service fee of a FIFA-licensed Football agent?

A: Under the “Client Pays” principle of FFAR Article 14(2), only the client who engaged the agent pays their fee. The client can be the player, coach, releasing club, or engaging club, depending on who hired them.

Q: Can a club ever pay a player’s agent fee on their behalf?

A: Yes. Where the represented player or coach earns under USD 200,000 annually as specified by Article 14(3) of FFAR

Q: Can a football agent be paid by both the player and the club?

A: Yes. The agent is permitted to represent both the player and the engaging club, and will be paid by both parties, provided he obtains prior written consent. However, an agent is not permitted to represent both the buying club and the selling club in a transaction, or the selling club and the player, or the three parties, due to a conflict of interest.

Q: Is the fee calculated the same way for every type of agent?

A: No. Agents representing a player or coach, or an engaging club, calculate their fee based on the player’s remuneration, while agents representing a releasing club calculate their fee based on the transfer fee.

How does someone become a FIFA Licensed Football Agent?

If you are interested in becoming a FIFA licensed football agent, negotiating transfers, and representing players, passing the mandatory FIFA Agent Exam is the first step. Read our beginner guide on how to become a football agent.

At BallBusiness, we help aspiring agents every year take the first step towards becoming a FIFA licensed agent. Our FIFA Agent Exam Preparatory Course gives candidates the best possible chance of passing on their first attempt. The course includes nine in-depth modules totalling over 21 hours of content, broken into 236 lessons, plus 37 quiz papers including practice questions and full mock FIFA Agent Exams, delivered over a self-paced 10-week programme with one-on-one support.

You can also connect with other candidates preparing for the 2027 FIFA Agent Exam by joining our Aspiring Agents 2027 group.

Becoming a FIFA licensed football agent does not have to be difficult. At BallBusiness, we are here to help make it happen.