Joan Cruz, Bryan Rabello and many others: whose fault is it if young Chilean talents find themselves in the subsidiaries of Spanish clubs?

A few weeks ago, Joan Cruz was announced as a new Real Oviedo Vetusta player. The information was published by the official website of Real Oviedo, the parent company of the team which plays in Group 1 of the Second Federation, the fourth category of Spanish football. With the position, the peninsular entity intends to settle the doubts regarding the ownership of the midfielder, which Colo Colo still claims as his own, under the interpretation of the contract clauses that would allow him automatic renewal. The albos have indeed entered the Copa Libertadores. Obviously, he will not play the continental tournament.

Beyond the lack of certainty of the operation, which will surely be resolved by FIFA, insofar as the albos plan to go and defend their heritage, the concrete fact is that the midfielder joins an unfortunate list: that promises from the Chilean. football that end up being linked to subsidiaries of the Spanish teams. It happened to several. The most famous case, in fact, is paired with that of Cruz: Bryan Rabello left for Sevilla, but was previously signed to Atlético de Sevilla . And there is another vital element: both were represented in these operations by the company AIM .

The list is enriched with other easy-to-remember cases. Gonzalo Collao and Nicolás Clavería left the U with the promise of reaching Extremadura, but the midfielder was previously signed up with Unión Deportiva Montijo. Both were represented by agent Marcelo Contreras. The goalkeeper only played four games in the Iberian second division team before moving to Croatia and, finally, returning to Chilean football and defending Palestine today. For his part, the midfielder plays for Santiago City .

The explanation has several edges. And, according to the protagonists themselves, it admits nuances. “I got the last part of Rabello . He was determined not to sign. I fell on the cake at two months. There is a mixture of everything. We have an obligation to see before the contracts that are about to expire. On the other hand, there are the representatives, who are desperate to remove the boy, through the commission, but they are not prepared. It’s complex, because we’re not in the prisoner. We can do what corresponds, but the player and the agent have drawn their paths. There are representatives who pass money to players so that they do not sign . Here, you only have to pay the training fees, which is a negligible amount. On the one hand, there is the club, which has invested in recruitment, the house, the school and someone arrives who finds himself in this type of situation and takes it for free. It is very unfavorable for the club, ”explains Juan Gutiérrez, sports director of Colo Colo at the time of Rabello’s departure.

Rodrigo Goldberg had to endure the cases of Collao and Echeverría when he performed a similar function at the U. “One can be well or badly thought out. There is a table at FIFA which regulates training rights by continent, country and category. This was created for those who robbed players. They waited until they were 18 to take them and enroll them in clubs. In Chile, training fees are 30 thousand dollars per year. In Europe, 90 thousand dollars. What is done is pay what it would have cost to train the player “, he argues. However, there is a subterfuge that leaves the clubs completely defenseless. “If they are registered in a fourth category team, they pay 0. That is the question. Thus, they enroll them in the fifth of Portugal. For a year they play it and with this they “clean up” the player. Fees are paid to the first club other than your formation. If you are sold, training rights are included “, explains the Polish.

The U acted drastically. “We sued Extremadura and they were punished,” the former striker recalled.

Agents play a key role. They are the intermediaries of the operations. Some advocate strict regulation of this type of transfer. “I don’t know Cruz’s situation very well, but we, as a professional association, are not in favor of players being removed from clubs without having a civilized dialogue with the clubs. We believe that clubs invest in players becoming professionals. Some more and some less. Psychologists, coaches, travels. And that a representative comes to remove them, we do not share it . As an association, we want everything to be transparent”, explains José Luis Carreño, president of the entity that brings together the Chilean agents. AIM, which represents Cruz, is not a party to the case.

Carreño clings to a key step to get everything working in order. “That’s why we are happy that the status of FIFA will be formalized in October. It will reveal all “, sentence.

The clubs, without much success, are looking for ways to protect themselves. “They have to look for the players so as not to escape them or look for solutions before three or four months after the end of the contract ”, says Gutiérrez. Again, the discussion adds considerations. “The question is very complex because if Cruz is well, plays and goes to the first team they will say it was a decision, but Gabriel Suazo left at 24, with five tournaments and goes to a European club to start immediately. Those who left like Cruz for a year or two are back . They are myopic. If they keep him waiting, matures, not only has games but tournaments, and comes out at a mature age, everyone will make more money. This option is ephemeral, a stick in the spade. Two years later, they are back. I’m talking from the player’s point of view. Suazo left with four or five tournaments, starters, selected. He goes and plays, ”he deepens. “The common good is that the boy is fine. And so everyone will be a winner “, he argues.

It also raises an option for clubs to protect themselves. “The Chilean footballer does not mature quickly, but sometimes you have to take “insurance”. This is why contracts are made. The cost for a player who then explodes to break free is higher “, he postulates, figures in hand. Goldberg, on the contrary, reveals the other part of the experience. “In 2017, the U took the decision to make contracts for each of them. They spent 15 or 20 million a month on players who had no chance of playing “, remember.