Brazil’s financial capital is at the center of the crazy and chaotic world of the football transfer market this week.
Representatives from global superclubs such as Manchester United and Liverpool are among those who have traveled to Sao Paulo for the latest ‘speed dating’ transfer event, taking place over the next two days.
Now imagine it: at table 12, a broker discusses his player, who wants to leave his current side, with a potential suitor. Two rows away, a club is finalizing a transfer for one of their main targets, and a conversation is underway next to them that could lead to a big money transfer in the future.
The events are organized by TransferRoom, an online platform launched in 2017. The company – the brainchild of Jonas Ankersen, the brother of Southampton director Rasmus – claims every club completes at least one deal and every agency, all verified, at least two deals after attending a summit.
More than 630 delegates gathered at Stamford Bridge in March for the most recent event in March, and the upcoming meeting in Sao Paulo has once again sold out.
TransferRoom’s global summits help brokers and clubs eager to do business connect with each other
The company’s most recent ‘speed dating’ events took place at Stamford Bridge in March
TransferRoom was launched in 2017 by Jonas Ankersen (pictured at Stamford Bridge in March).
Ankersen says there’s only one item on the agenda: business, hence the nickname “speed dating” he gives the events.
“An important aspect of the summits is our 15 minute one-on-one meetings, which can look like speed dating, but allow them to speed up transfer conversations and get started quickly,” Ankersen tells Mail Sport .
“The idea is to encourage people to be concise and get to the point. They are not here to make small talk, but to conduct business. That’s why we’ve implemented a format that’s focused, and a 15-minute window doesn’t allow for any other option.’
Not only will the event in Sao Paulo be the last summit, but it is also the latest example of a young company’s attempt to revolutionize the transfer market.
TransferRoom is football’s answer to Amazon and RightMove, a de-facto transfer marketplace where clubs – who pay between £10,000 and £60,000 to use the service, depending on their package tier – can effectively make their next purchase on the fly on a button.
The 2023 summer transfer window is officially open and clubs around the world are expected to spend billions before it slams shut.
A growing percentage of this is spent on TransferRoom. Those involved say they have facilitated more than 3,000 transfers costing a total of £500 million in the six years since they came on the scene.
Transfers totaling £277m have been facilitated by the company in the past two windows, with the biggest Premier League deal coming when Southampton paid £12.3m for Carlos Alcaraz in January.
Alcaraz’s agents, Insua & Rol Sports Group, made the then Racing Club player available on the platform and Southampton messaged them directly to express their interest. Barely two weeks later, the 20-year-old Argentinian was paraded in the Saints shirt.
Carlos Alcaraz joined Southampton from Racing Club in January for £12.3 million
An image from TransferRoom shows how Alcaraz’s move came about
Antoine Semenyo’s £10.5million move from Bristol City to Bournemouth was facilitated by TransferRoom
The platform also played a part in Antoine Semenyo’s £10.5 million move from Bristol City to Bournemouth earlier this year. The Championship side ‘super-pitched’ Semenyo – the equivalent of a super-like on dating app Tinder – on December 1, the Cherries registered their interest on December 5 and the deal closed on January 27.
While neither Alcaraz nor Semenyo have the profile of a global star, the deals were still completed faster than the dozens of lengthy transfer sagas that are a regular part of every window.
In fact, Ankersen claims that the record from throwing one player to receiving interest from another club is just 20 seconds.
Insiders say there’s been a notable shift away from TransferRoom in the past two windows. In the beginning it was mainly used by smaller clubs as a way to sign players, and by Premier League teams looking to loan players. Now 19 of the top 20 clubs – all but Fulham – use the service in some form.
Half of the Bundesliga, including RB Leipzig, Borussia Dortmund and Bayer Leverkusen, and France’s PSG are also signed, although no deals have currently been signed with Real Madrid or Barcelona, always key players in the transfer market.
The average price paid with TransferRoom has also risen from less than £1 million four years ago to around £2.5 million in January.
So how exactly does it work?
Ankersen (center) launched TransferRoom in 2017 to change the market
According to Ankersen, the platform “enables clubs to monitor a player’s availability, value and salary expectations in real time.”
“Members on the platform can see which player clubs are looking to buy or sell, pitch potential deals and communicate directly with each other through a messaging system,” he says.
‘You can see TransferRoom as a direct gateway to the transfer market without interference from third parties.
“Compared to those other sectors, football in general and the transfer market in particular seemed to be stuck in the past.
“Someone willing to spend €100,000 on a house has better tools to make a decision than a club that can invest millions in a single footballer.
“I could see how much money was being spent on footballers and yet how often transfers failed, mainly due to the major obstacles to success that had developed in the industry.
“Instead of having access to the information they needed to make deals that worked for everyone, clubs, agents and players worked in the dark.”
In addition to their online platform and summits, TransferRoom has now created a system that allows players to register themselves and find agents using their ‘AgentFinder’ tool to help them with their dream move, while also gaining more power and influence in their next destination .
Imagine Kylian Mbappé, the source of much speculation about his future at PSG, using it to find a new club?
While someone of French superstar status is still a long way off, expect the new branch of TransferRoom to be fully utilized sooner rather than later.
And expect hundreds of millions more to be spent through TransferRoom this summer.
And expect Ankersen and Co to continue to affect the market.