How landmark FIFA transfer verdict could cost Liverpool millions

Following a long-running legal dispute with FIFA, former Chelsea and Arsenal player Lassana Diarra has won a landmark decision after his case was victorious in the European Court of Justice (ECJ).

The ECJ found that Diarra was right to challenge his wrongful contract termination at Lokomotiv Moscow in 2014 - a decision that could drastically revolutionise how transfers are conducted across Europe.

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As has been argued in the world of golf recently since the Saudi PIF-backed enterprise LIV Golf split off from the PGA Tour, players are increasingly recognised as private contractors, entitled to make decisions for their own self-interest.

As such, players' agents secure work for their clients and negotiate the best deal, i.e., which club they would like to play for, for how long, and under which financial terms.

While to you and me, this all falls under the simplicity of a player transfer, which happens to take place seamlessly behind the scenes before the club's new hot talent makes their way to the pitch, the complexity of the different details involved is significant. And numerous different regulations and laws have to be followed, under the governance of FIFA and UEFA.

Why does this all matter? The laws could well be changing as a result of Diarra's successful appeal to the ECJ, in a decision that has declared some of FIFA's laws to be incompatible with the European Union's laws, which may change the way transfers are conducted.

Diarra's case in summary

In 2014, Lokomotiv Moscow terminated Lassana Diarra's contract three years early, following disputes with manager Leonid Kuckuk.

Subsequently appearing before FIFA, in a case backed by the Court of Arbitration for Sport in 2016, Diarra was found guilty of breaching his contract, resulting in a 15-month suspension from professional football and being ordered to pay a £8.4million fine.

Diarra then agreed to join Belgian club Charleroi, although FIFA refused to issue the club with an International Transfer Certificate (ITC), which is an essential part of registering a newly signed player, so the move collapsed.

This tactic from FIFA, was today agreed to have been illegal - breaching the EU's freedom of movement and competition law - a substantial victory for Diarra's legal team, but a decision which will now result in significantly relaxed conditions surrounding player power in the transfer market.

Fifpro's recent statement has declared the judgement to be "a major ruling", that "will change the landscape of football".

A new dawn for football transfers

While new rules will need to be drawn up by the game's governing bodies, the new conditions will likely involve players having more power to move clubs and work where they wish, without the player nor the new club being required to pay compensation to the former club.

However, in contrast to Diarra's case where the club terminated his contract and he sought to move to a different club, the relaxed restrictions in theory stipulate that a player could terminate their contract at will and the consequences for the player and their new club will be minimal.

As such, the guarantee that your club's players will be present each season is no longer there, and ensuring club-player relations are positive will be essential to ensure the team's assets are not inclined to leave.

Subsequently, while players who are in the last year of their contracts already have significant rights to converse with other teams about potential moves, players who are still under contract but actively seeking a move elsewhere have been given an extra tool to use, where they can legitimately break their contract and not have large amounts of compensation follow them around.

How Liverpool could lose hundreds of millions

Having recently spoken out in the last international break about his desire to play first-team football, Coaimhin Kelleher has made his intentions loud and clear about his future prospects.

And with the summer transfer window firmly shut, Liverpool will expect to utilise his services when necessary throughout the season, as a backup to the Reds' No1 Alisson Becker.

But as a result of this new verdict, it is plausible that Kelleher could simply terminate his contract at Liverpool and move elsewhere for no fee. The notion of a player being stuck in place because of their agreed contract terms is gone.

Likewise, concerning the club's young midfield prospect Tyler Morton, who is back at Anfield after a loan move to Hull City last year. The 21-year-old has been at the club all his life, and many will be hoping he finally gets given the green light to feature for Liverpool's first team on a regular basis.

But after two loan moves, the player's frustrations could be mounting and despite signing a contract extension that will reportedly run until 2027, Liverpool could see him leave for nothing in the blink of an eye should relations sour and Morton wish to breach his contract.

While the two examples above involve the plausible departure of two of Liverpool's academy prospects, who did not cost the club anything to begin with, the time and effort put into developing the players will have been wasted and their monetary value to the club will be lost in the wind if they leave before the club have the opportunity to sell them on.

Additionally, Liverpool's most expensive investment - Darwin Nunez, whom the club brought in from Benfica for £85million in 2022 - will now need to be kept happy amidst attention from clubs such as Fenerbahce and Atletico Madrid.

At just 25 years old, now looking to enter the prime of his career, Liverpool will be hoping that their gamble pays off with the forward having a season reminiscent of his fellow countryman Luis Suarez, who in 2013-14 notched 31 Premier League goals.

Likewise, should the forward find relations with the club to sour, resulting in him openly yearning for a move elsewhere, Liverpool could lose out on a potential transfer fee of millions if Nunez were to breach his contract.

Concerns moving forward following the monumental ruling

As such, Liverpool and all other clubs across Europe will need to ensure they focus on the players on their books because the risk of losing a player for nothing now involves players who are on long-term contracts as well as those who are running down their contracts.

While the club could stand to lose out significantly through this ruling, so could every other club, so an opportunity has also arisen from this verdict.

Despite the concerns that there may be a major revolt amongst players, it is unlikely that this will be a tactic that is exploited straight away.

Speaking to Radio 5 Live, sports finance expert Kieran Maguire said: "It has to be said the vast majority of footballers don't want this to be the case."

But now that the door has been opened, ensuring that footballers are treated equally in the eyes of employment law, football clubs like Liverpool will have to be much more aware of the power players have to determine their wants and needs.