Soccer transfers are already a headache. Throw a World Cup into the mix, and you’ve got a whole new level of chaos. How do you get a deal done when your target is off chasing glory for their country? Historically, most clubs waited until the tournament ended. Any move during the action was a rarity, and it usually sent shockwaves through the sport.
Take Cesc Fabregas: one day after Spain’s first match in the 2014 World Cup, he bolted from Barcelona to Chelsea for €33 million. Two years later, Chelsea struck again during Euro 2016, snapping up Michy Batshuayi for €40 million. The Belgian striker had to ditch his national camp for a quick medical. But this summer, during the biggest World Cup ever, a parade of players have switched clubs while on duty with their nations.
Defenders Ibrahima Konaté (France) and Marc Cucurella (Spain), plus midfielder Bernardo Silva (Portugal), all joined Real Madrid while out in North America. Forward Ismael Saibari went to Bayern Munich from PSV for €55 million while Morocco was still alive. Then there are the blockbusters: Gonçalo Ramos moved to AC Milan from PSG for €74 million while with Portugal, and Manchester City paid a mind-blowing £116 million to Nottingham Forest for Elliot Anderson—even as he played a key role for England.
And the fun doesn’t stop in the knockout rounds: ahead of Switzerland’s quarterfinal against Argentina, Johan Manzambi reportedly agreed a €60 million move to Newcastle. So how are these deals getting done with players distracted by the biggest stage? ESPN talked to agents and club insiders to find out.
Normally, transfers follow a script: clubs talk, agents negotiate, terms get sketched, then a medical, contract signing, and registration. Most of that can happen without the player. But at some point—definitely for the medical—you need the guy. If he’s at a World Cup, you go to him.
“Clubs fly their staff to wherever the player is to do the medical,” says agent Alex Levack, who made his first tournament deal back at the 2006 World Cup. “Big clubs want their top people there to get it done.” No surprise when you’re dropping £116 million on Anderson. Manchester City was all over that.
Leon Angel, Co-Head of Football at CAA Base, says those medics are sometimes overhyped: “They check hearts, get scans, request old records. If a player had cartilage issues or tore an ACL, they send scans to a specialist.” The ease of doing this abroad? Depends on your level. Elite clubs have a network. Anderson’s checks happened at England’s Kansas City base. AC Milan flew staff to Miami for Ramos’s medical. Easy in the U.S., with four to six days between games.
But for others, it’s a nightmare. NWSL side Racing Louisville signed Thembi Kgatlana from Atlético Madrid just before the 2022 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations. With games every three days, no time for a medical—an MRI takes an hour. So they agreed a deal subject to a medical after the tournament. She tore her Achilles in the group stage. We’ll get back to that.
Normally, it’s three parties: player, old club, new club. During a tournament, add a fourth: the national team manager and federation. Sometimes they’re cool. Thomas Tuchel and England were very accommodating with Anderson’s move. “Everyone knew he was going to Man City or Man United,” Angel says. “Tuchel’s attitude was ‘get the medical, get it signed.'” Portugal was the same with Milan and Ramos. But not always.
Levack has seen managers shut down talk. Angel: “Take England women’s manager Sarina Wiegman. She says, ‘If you’re moving, get it done before you come. I don’t want transfer business affecting us.'” Their agency has had to move quickly to respect that.
The biggest danger, every agent says, is the psychological hit. Tuchel and Wiegman want the same thing: don’t distract the player. Vítor Gonçalves, CFO of Pro Eleven, puts it bluntly: “If a transfer can’t be done before duty, communicate with the player as little as possible.” Angel adds: “You don’t want to tell them something, then they hold back in a duel because they don’t want to get injured—that’s when you do.”
Levack’s biggest fear: a deal collapsing mid-tournament. “If a player’s told a move is happening, and then the club pulls out, that can crush them.” Elite players focus, but they’re human. If Anderson’s dream move to City fell apart as he prepared to face Mexico, you’d bet it would sting.
Best-laid plans, right? Everyone tries to keep it smooth, but sometimes disaster hits. Like Kgatlana. Her move from Atlético to Racing Louisville during the 2022 WAFCON was all set. But no medical before the final group game. A $120,000 deal agreed subject to checks later. Then she tore her Achilles.
“She was killing it in the group stage,” says Austin Buchanan, then Racing Louisville’s director of scouting. “When her agent called, I put my head in my hands. I knew things got hard.” Agent Chris Atkins: “Calling Racing was brutal. It’s stayed with me.”
Buchanan had spent six months on this—checking in every two weeks, finally getting traction during the tournament. Then this. “No chance she’d pass a medical,” Atkins says. “Lawyers said the deal was conditional. Racing could walk.” The deal hung in limbo. “Atlético didn’t want to change, but we couldn’t pay the same fee for a player we wouldn’t have for a year. The NWSL recommended we walk, but it was our call.” After endless back-and-forth, they restructured: from $90,000 fixed and $30,000 in add-ons to $60,000 each. Everyone says it worked out, but it’s a brutal reminder of the risks when you try to buy a player in the middle of a World Cup.