Done Deal: An Insider's Guide to Football Contracts, Multi-Million Pound Transfers and Premier League Big Business

by Daniel Geey

Insightful, enlightening and thought-provoking, leading Premier League lawyer Daniel Geey lifts the lid on the inner workings of modern football.

Whether it is a manager being sacked, the signing of a new star player, television rights negotiations, player misconduct or multi-million-pound club takeovers, lawyers remain at the heart of all football business dealings. Written by leading Premier League lawyer Daniel Geey, who has dealt with all these incidents first hand, this highly accessible book explores the issues - from pitch to boardroom - that shape the modern game and how these impact leagues, clubs, players and fans.

Featuring insider anecdotes and expert contributions, Done Deal provides football fans with a fresh and authoritative perspective on all off-field football matters.

Genres: Football, Sports, Soccer, Nonfiction, Business, Law

256 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2019

Reviews

[Oliver Francis · Rating 2 out of 5]

A book that well covers the facts of the legal side of football but offers little else. For someone with 13 years of experience as a sports lawyer you would have hoped for some opinions or interesting anecdotes.

[Aurel · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating insight into the laws and regulations that govern modern football. Daniel does an excellent job in breaking down some key concepts that drive decisions in modern day football.

[Karen Ross · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book - unlike its marketing blurb - was definitely written by a lawyer. Authoritative insights into the legal aspects of football. Feels at times as if you're reading a text book. Which might be useful for those who want to enter the business of football and need to pass exams to do so. But not so much for the general reader. Dry prose that 100% fails even begin to reflect the excitement that accompanies the deals and 'this is what happens' the author describes. If you're a lawyer, you'll love it. If you're a dedicated follower of football, not so much.

[Захарченко Віктор · Rating 5 out of 5]

Цитата: Як власник ексклюзивних прав на трансляцію, Прем'єр-ліга продала ці права з аукціону тому, хто запропонував найвищу ціну. У травні 1992 року Sky, яка почала своє супутникове мовлення у Великій Британії в 1989 році, заплатила видатну суму в £191 млн. за ексклюзивний п'ятирічний контракт на показ футболу в прямому ефірі. BBC виграла показ основних моментів для того, щоб демонструвати їх у своєму культовому шоу "Матч дня", а ITV - раніше альтернативний ефірний мовник у прямому ефірі - залишився ні з чим. Уперше вищий дивізіон транслювався в прямому ефірі виключно по платному телебаченню.

Двояке враження. З одного боку Гіі розповів мені деякі факти, які я не знав. Зокрема. Гарно розібрано момент з телеправами, адже зараз кожен клуб АПЛ за сезон одразу отримує не менше 100 млн євро - тільки від телеправ. Тому я скуповуються як "самашедші". З іншого (і це був приєнмий факт), в багатьох місцях я прогортав книгу, бот там йшлося про те, що я й так знаю. Відчув себе трохи диванним експертом :)

[Sara F · Rating 4 out of 5]

It does what it says on the cover.

This book goes into details into the financial side of football. It mainly focuses on the Premier League, bit it does mention other leagues in different parts of the book. The book is written by a lawyer/agent so it's pretty much about what goes into contracts, how money is divided, weird clauses, breaches of contract and rules. It also talks a lot about the general state of English football and how it's investing it's income, attempts to increase revenue, English players (homegrown rule), broadcasting and international games. The book is easy to read and has a lot of interesting examples from real life.

[Mr D · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting read and gives some much needed context on certain situations that arise in the game.

The championing of football agents still doesn’t really wash. There needs more time and attention given to the ethics, morals and standards of agents who rely on unsettled players for exorbitant pay days.

I’m sure they make lots of phone calls and negotiate lots with several amounts of paperwork. Why the club has to foot the bill to a players agent had never made sense to me. Surely it should be the players role to give agents a cut of their new contract and benefits.

Other than that though, very informative stuff

[Logan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Took a little longer with this book due to my work hours going up during the Easter holidays.

I very much enjoyed it and it’s very very educational I’ve learnt so much and look at these millions pound deals in a whole different light and I feel the need to learn even more.

I will say the terminology and details can be a bit confusing at time and almost bursted out laughing with how confused I was getting at one point… overall it’s an amazing book and I’d be very happy to read more books like this.

[Chris Hawkins · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book covers a lot of intricacies often overlooked in more “traditional” footballing books. It’s well written, explains things in an understandable and concise manner and flows well.

However, don’t expect a lot of behind-the-scenes anecdotes or juicy gossip. This book provides an overview of the business aspect of football and little else. It does this very well, but don’t buy it expecting something it isn’t pretending to be.

[Darragh Keogh]

Fantastic Reading

As a premier league and football fanatic who hopes to work in the football industry one day, I found this book incredible.
The detail and insights into so many different aspects of the inside football world made you learn so much. The references back to the incredible past of the premier league is what makes the book special. The Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano story along with the implications was my personal highlighg

[Kevin Dineen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very insightful to the money and complexities to the modern game. Has some heavy moments of legal speak but coming from an author with a legal background, it gives it more credence to how intricate the business side of football really is. If you're looking for Geey's personal stories or experiences with the game, this isn't your read. He takes a very straightforward and expository approach. I recommend it.

[Shoaib · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is presented as an explainer of the financial side of the beautiful game. In that respect, it is excellent, explaining in clear and concise terms everything from how a transfer is functionally conducted, to the various components of a takeover bid, to the reason why Sky and BT pay so much for their TV rights.

As someone who keenly follows football both on and off the pitch, I felt that there was a good degree of information to enhance my understanding of Football and Finances.

[Vernes Bisic · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant overview of how football industry functions, helping fans of the game globally understand the role of players, managers, agents, clubs, owners, broadcasters, global brands associated with the game, national football associations, as well as international federations such as UEFA and FIFA.
All of the stakeholders coexist in interdependent and very complex ecosystem insightfully explaining myriad of those complexities.
It’s the ultimate behind the scenes of football view.

[Temisan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cha-ching! So many players play the game of football and get paid. This is a non-fiction book that explains the financial side of the Premier League. This book is really helped me understand this side of the Premier League. I've always wanted to play in the Premier League and I'm very young. So it gave me a better understanding. I reccomend this book to upcoming football stars that dream to play in Europe.

[Garrick Infanger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Geey knows the subject matter cold and walks through all the different economic aspects of modern football. This is very much 'inside baseball' from the financial point of view. But also fascinating and he presents--though does not opine--on many of the issues confronting the clubs and leagues going forward.

[MA Rickard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very insightful

I am a keen football fan and follower of the game. This book is a great overview of where the game is now and the impact of various business and sporting bodies on the game. The subject is written by somebody with a love and passion for the game. If you want to know and understand better the business of football, this is the book for you.

[Dominic Carlin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Did you know that insurance payouts for footballers injured on international duty have a 28 day excess period and that the cover is limited to one year with a maximum pay out of €7.5m per player? I didn’t, but I probably did know almost everything else.

The early chapters on player/transfer contracts and agents were genuinely interesting, the later ones just felt like filler at times.

[Edu Martínez · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a really good book, very insightful and well made for people to understand the overall football world. I recommend it for people that are just getting into the industry and wants to know more about it . If you are already savy its good to give it all a review but not very in depth in specifics if this is what you are looking for.

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some heavier topics on football but written in an understandable manner. Particularly found the following topics of interest:

- Club vs Country
- Broadcasting Rights and the decline of live tv audiences
- The role of agents
- Image rights

[Kiran Hegde · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very insightful about the football ecosystem. How the money flows, the television revenue, why qualification in the champion's league is important, the role of the agents, and the every expanding global revenue for such a beautiful game.

[Conor Daly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent and accessible overview of the football industry without the glamourising of "crazy money" and "dodgy dealings" which other books would offer. Entertaining and can be treated as a textbook which one can regularly refer back to.

[Darragh Howley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Seems to be well informed but wasn't anything new or special in it compared to what people know through the main media channels anyway. A bit boring if you already follow a lot of what happens in the football world already and some examples used a few times.

[S Ravishankar · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book describes all the dealings that go on backstage in the world of English Football specifically the Premier League. Examples are of the famous transfers that happened in the past 20 years from the viewpoint of a lawyer who has been involved, or has observed, some of these deals.

[Fraser Whyte · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh. Pretty dry throughout - difficult to make some of this subject otherwise, I guess.

But I also didn't find it particularly insightful and don't think I learned much, or anything, that I didn't already know.

[Ozzie Khawaja · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gives you good insight at a very high level. Some topics could have been expanded a bit more but I guess the book isn’t meant to do that. It gives some good insights and what you can do and what are the things to think about when constructing a sports deal of some sort.

[latrell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Done Deal provides an insider's look into the world of football contracts, multi-million-pound transfers, and the business side of the Premier League, revealing the complexities and strategies behind high-profile deals and the financial landscape of modern football.

[Daniel Sanchez Ojalvo · Rating 3 out of 5]

A great insight into the business of football and the intricacies of the sport at the professional level specially focused on the Premier league and the English experience. That being said this books are better as a reference piece then as a good read through

[Joe Evans · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well researched and mildly interesting. A bit too fact heavy. Not many anecdotes. Struggled to finish. Feels more like a study textbook though some interesting info. Spoiler alert. There's alot of money in football.

[Omar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent book about contracts and football dealings (transfers, bonuses, tv rights and more).
Rating: 3/5

[Jamie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reads much more like a dense football law textbook than a “guide to..”

Would not recommend if you’re looking for a casual behind the scenes viewpoint of football transfers.

[Ahmad Gulfam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some of the details are too boring and repetitive; however, a must read to get full insights into Soccer transfer market.