Contracts of up to 8 years for players to protect clubs (but no accounting benefits)

Clubs more protected against the risk of early departure of players, following the Diarra ruling, protection therefore of the club's assets, null effect for the purposes of reducing the purchase costs of players' cards because their amortisation remains limited to five years according to UEFA and federal rules.

In the Sports Decree dismissed by the Council of Ministers on Friday, an important novelty was introduced regarding the maximum duration of a professional contract. In practice, football clubs will be able to sign contracts lasting more than five years and up to a maximum of eight years, unlike today and for the past 45 years under Law 91/81, reformed by Legislative Decree 36/2021 but not on this point.

However, such a long term, assuming that it is accepted by the counterparty if not in return for high remuneration, allows clubs to put up a defensive wall against the risks arising from the application of Article 17 of the FIFA Regulations on the Status of Players. According to this rule, in fact, players are given the possibility to unilaterally terminate the employment relationship after two years, in the case of an athlete older than 28 years, and after three seasons, in the case of an athlete younger than 28 years, against compensation. A way out strengthened by the Diarra case on termination without just cause.

FIFA, for its part, has been evaluating for some months now possible remedies to protect clubs in order to stem the potential effects of this decision. In fact, in many new contracts the clubs have inserted ad hoc clauses to raise the price of the compensation to be received in the event of the early and unjustified departure of one of their players, following a model in vogue in Spain.

On the accounting front and in view of UEFA's financial fair play, however, little has changed, in the sense that already in 2023 the European body sanctioned that the cost of a player's card must be spread over a maximum of five football seasons. Chelsea, in fact, taking advantage of English laws that already allowed professional sporting employment contracts of up to eight years, had begun to exploit this option by also claiming to spread the cost of signings over eight rather than five years, with an obvious competitive advantage.