The EFL disown third party player ownership (i.e. Tevez/Mascherano) although at about the same time that Duchatelet was buying Charlton and going through the EFL fit and proper ownership process he was trying to sell Michy Batshuayi from Standard Liege to Everton without evidently telling the player or his manager in order that he could cash in on an extra £3million from the terms of the contract over the player which Duchatelet held whilst he was owner also of Standard.
Apologies if this was aired before years ago but I was shocked (well perhaps not given that its Duchatelet) to discover this newspaper piece fro Belgium at the time (Jan 2014) reporting on the views of the player's parents
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By: Michaël Bouche
21/01/14 - 14h19
"A clause in his contract stipulates that Michy’s contract can be sold for a sum of 8 million euros and that this amount is reduced to 5 million if Duchâtelet no longer owns Standard.
" The president (Duchatelet) has used our naivety to make us resign Michy at the beginning of the season with the help of a lawyer that did not defend our interests, but his own He established rules that we respect "
" Duchâtelet did not bother to answer us "
" That said, it seems to us astonishing to say the least that neither Christophe Henrotay (Manager of Standard) nor Batshuayi's parents were invited by the president for a discussion, we tried to call him several times but he never bothered to answer us. "
"He only thinks of his wallet"
"Should we remind Mr. Duchâtelet that we are the parents and that we deserve a little respect (...) Compared to the supporters of the Standard, he could have clarified things too." Instead, Duchâtelet held inflammatory statements in the press, which is the sign that he is losing his temper in a situation that he himself has created, but which has grown in importance. his wallet".
"Duchâtelet sent an email to Everton"
"To be sincere, we often feel that it pushes our son to leave.
Duchâtelet sent an email to Everton to inquire about the possibility of a transfer. having seen this email, why would he do that? he did not want to sell Michy?
We question ourselves strongly about his true motives ".
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Comments
I think Henrotay was maybe the agent of Batshuayi rather than the manager of Standard but other than that the gist of the translation from 7sur7 is I think correct.
How reliable 7sur7 are as sports journalists I don't know.
Report below from Jan 2014
7sur7 Michael Bouche
L'autre feuilleton qui a animé le mercato hivernal est celui de Michy Batshuayi. Christophe Henrotay, le nouvel agent du joueur, a été accusé de vouloir recaser son poulain à Anderlecht, via une construction avec Everton. La semaine dernière, Batshuayi a voulu officiellement clarifier sa situation. "Je reste au Standard". Suite aux nombreuses rumeurs qui ont circulé, les parents de Michy (Mambeko Batshuayi et Viviane Leya) ont tenu à mettre les points sur les "i". Ils s'expriment dans Het Laatste Nieuws et ne mâchent pas leurs mots à l'égard de Roland Duchâtelet, qui ne songerait qu'à son business. Extraits choisis.
© photo news.
© photo news.
"Une clause dans son contrat stipule qu'il peut être vendu pour une somme de 8 millions d'euros et que ce montant est réduit à 5 millions si Duchâtelet n'est plus propriétaire du Standard. Le président a utilisé notre naïveté en faisant resigner Michy en début de saison avec l'aide d'un conseil qui ne défendait pas nos intérêts, mais les siens. Il a établi des règles que nous respectons"
"Duchâtelet n'a pas pris la peine de nous répondre"
"Cela dit, il nous semble pour le moins étonnant que jusqu'à présent, ni Christophe Henrotay (ndlr. l'agent de Batshuayi) ni les parents n'aient été conviés par le président pour une discussion. Nous avons tenté de l'appeler à plusieurs reprises, mais il n'a jamais pris la peine de nous répondre".
"Il ne pense qu'à son portefeuille"
"Devons-nous rappeler à Monsieur Duchâtelet que nous sommes les parents et que nous méritons un peu de respect? (...) Par rapport aux supporters du Standard, il aurait pu clarifier les choses aussi. Au lieu de cela, Duchâtelet a tenu des propos incendiaires dans la presse. C'est le signe qu'il perd son sang-froid dans une situation qu'il a lui-même créée, mais qui a pris de l'ampleur. En fait, il ne pense qu'à son portefeuille".
"Duchâtelet a envoyé un mail à Everton"
"Pour être sincères, nous avons souvent l'impression qu'il pousse notre fils vers la sortie. Duchâtelet a envoyé un email à Everton pour se renseigner sur la possibilité d'un transfert. Nous avons vu ce mail. Pourquoi aurait-il fait ça s'il ne voulait pas vendre Michy? Nous nous interrogeons fortement sur ses vraies motivations".
Thanks.
Third party player contract ownership is nothing more than latter day slavery and here - if the story is to be believed - he was engaged in trying to sell Michy B to Everton over the heads of the player and the agent himself in order to engineer himself an extra £3million under the terms of the contract before he gave up his controlling interest in Standard (which evidently reduced the fee by that amount if he left).
All this was happening at around the same time that RD was purchasing Charlton and by my reckoning had the EFL known about these dark practices there could have been questions asked.
They weren't and we all know what happened next.
What I would like to know is does RD still have any interest in Batshayui's contract? He is still a Chelsea player and on loan now I think to Borussia Dortmund but Batshayui scored the winning goal away at WBA which gave Chelsea the Premiership title the season before last.
If memory serves correctly West Ham were fined and/or had to pay compensation to Sheffield United for fielding Carlos Tevez who was instrumental in keeping West Ham up at the expense of Sheffield United (whilst Tevez was 'owned' by a third party).
It's all water under the bridge but it sounds as if Batshuyui was taken advantage of by Duchatelet when the former was a young player in Belgium (of Congolese descent?). Would like to know if it was Meire who was the lawyer who stitched up the contract.
Duchatelet is an A1 shit - none of this is going anywhere but I just hope that one day Duchatelet gets his just deserts for all his scheming and malpractice and the more it is exposed perhaps the more chance that one day he will.
Who'd have thunk it?
I only found the story of the player's outraged parents by chance because I saw that Batshuayi was being loaned out by Chelsea to Borussia the other day and I wondered if there was any profit in that if RD still 'owned' Batshuayi but I guess not?
My understanding is that third party ownership of players is allowed in Europe certainly in some countries but not here.
So RD has done nothing wrong in Belgium presumably but the practice is reprehensible when, as this example shows, the player is treated like an inanimate commodity although I guess RD was doing nothing more than acting in the guise of a football agent to maximise his own profit - the difference being that agents will consult with the players and are bound by some form of licencing rules.
RD was attempting to trade the player whilst no doubt telling him (if successful) that it was for his benefit. The fact that he was conducting this arrangement by e-mail (not face to face) and the underlying premise that players can be ordered around the globe at Duchatelet's whim presages his behaviour at Charlton with e-mails sent to SCP re 'how to set up a team formation' and the arrival unheralded at the Valley gates of several players surplus to requirements at Standard who were expected to be housed by Charlton and appear in the first team.
Of course, this means nothing to the EFL and if RD still owns the Batshuayi contract then the Premiership will/have turned a blind eye to it or RD has found some way to get around it.
I'm not a sports journalist or a lawyer so I don't know the ins and outs of this or even if RD still owns the contract or has an interest in it or indeed 'owns' other players contracts. All I know is that I feel a deep rage at this guy and his unrivaled arrogance in believing that he could profit massively in the world of football by applying a form of trading which takes advantage of young players trying to make it in a highly competitive environment without any understanding that this young guys are human beings inexperienced in the ways of the world.
The fact that RD arrived at Charlton with this background of player exploitation fills me with disgust and our club is now heavily tainted by his continued presence. If the EFL cannot see this then there is something fundamentally wrong with football governance in this country.
Thanks for posting this.
I have certainly heard of this rumour about Batshuayi before, from the Standard Socios, although the part about his family is new.
Given our approach to the EFL, it may be far from history but part of a relevant debate about the ODT.
One thing, why do you believe 3rd party ownership is legal in Belgium? I am not saying you are wrong but it would be helpful to have a more definitive view of this.
It may be irrelevant but without doing any closer examination it looks like they have a more relaxed system in Belgium.
I think I'm just assuming that its legal in Belgium because he's done it!
But I think I am right in believing that the system is or was legal in some South American countries and sanctioned by some European FAs - I haven't the wherewithal to trawl deeper - this was just something (the parents comments on Duchatelet caring more about his wallet) that struck a chord when I read it especially as the report is dated Jan 2014.
Had Duchatelet picked up on this dubious arrangement (3rd party ownership) and took advantage of his position as Standard owner to exploit a young promising player at the club (Batshuayi) by blinding the player and his parents with the riches to come if he signed over to RD whilst all the time thinking of how much he could cash in?
Of course, Batshuayi has progressed but how much has RD profited by it?
In 2014 he was trying to cash in for an extra £3million euros/pounds by trying to sell the player to Everton by e-mail.
Doesn't this sound kind of like the player farm thing he was fostering for Charlton and/or the Konsa sale (was that via e-mail sent to Brentford?) - maybe someone will know the answers to these questions.
I would be interested in seeing the first contract between RD and Bats if it is a public record in Belgium (probably not) and I would be very interested to learn whether Meire had anything to do with drafting it?
I know its all water under the bridge now but it illustrates the nature of the man the Aussies/others are dealing with IMO.
In 2016 STVV were fined CHF60.000 for breach of third-party ownership rules, one of four clubs so sanctioned.
https://www.fifa.com/governance/news/y=2016/m=3/news=several-clubs-sanctioned-for-breach-of-third-party-influence-third-par-2772984.html
If you look at links on the right of the page that @GlassHalfFull has helpfully posted, you see that FIFA moved against TPO in May 2015. That is after the Batshuayi case above, but what caught STVV subsequently. Which means that Duchatelet has form.
Far from being water under the bridge, I start to think that this could be very useful indeed, if the current takeover is indeed failing.
In the January 2016 transfer window, AA Ghent agreed a fee of €1.5m for STVV’s exciting young winger Edmilson Junior. Before the deal was completed, AA Ghent chairman Ivan De Witte received a phone call from Duchâtelet telling him that Edmilson would cost €2.5m. At this time Duchâtelet had no official role either in STVV or Standard. Nevertheless, he still had a financial interest in the sell on of STVV players, and he wanted to be sure that Standard had the financial resources to meet the agreed schedule of payments due to him. Edmilson was young and technically very talented, a player that might eventually be sold on at a profit.
The deal between STVV and AA Ghent was called off and Edmilson moved to Standard Liege instead, for a fee of around €1.5m.
(Apologies for the insulting language - to toads everywhere)
But if there is mischief still afoot and another skeleton in RD cupboard how could it be a factor in current takeover?
All I would say for now in public is that if you can somehow turn that material into a workable English language report, with the original source stated, CAST could make use of it. Same for @Big in Brasov story above, I will contact him directly about it.
It was of course the allegations about third-party ownership (TPO) that the FA stated were the reasons for my leaving."
Is there anyone out there who has the connection to find out whether Duchatelet still has TPO of the contract of Michy Batshuayi (see Opening Post) or any other player in Belgium or abroad?
If he does then this would add a significant piece of ammunition in demonstrating that RD is not a 'fit and proper person' to be in English football (even if TPO is accepted in Belgium and elsewhere).
I have been unable to make any headway with the journalist who broke the story of RDs feud with the parents of Batshuayi in 2014.