Gareth Bale’s agent bleating about a lack of Champions League football

Oh, do be quiet.

Gareth Bale’s agent, Jonathan Barnett, is doing his very best to drum up some interest in his client, and is busy talking to as many media sources as possible about a potential transfer.

And yes, that is the very same “you’re talking the piss, Jonathan” Barnett of Ashley Cole fame. Here are his quotes from Spanish paper Sport – as quoted by The Metro this morning:

‘Yes, it is clear that this [no Champions League football] is a problem.

If interested, they would have to put money on the table and then start talking. But it seems that Barca are working on the signing of Jordi Alba, a cheaper option.’

A lack of Champions League football is ‘a problem’, is it? No it’s not, it’s a convenient excuse.

FIFA has to start doing more to control agents and regulate the practices within that industry – because quite clearly there are a group of them, Barnett included, who are continually and flagrantly disregarding their clients’ contracts.

Obviously, Barnett has been asked a question by the Spanish media which needs an answer – but he’s put himself in a position to be interviewed. The correct response to Bale’s transfer situation is:

“He’s under contract, any interested parties need to discuss their intentions with Tottenham Hotspur.”

That’s it – no mention of values, fees, or situations. Barnett doesn’t own Bale, Tottenham do – an agent has nothing to do with a club selling a player, he should only become relevant once a parent club agrees to sell.

Agents today are fame-hungry, and Barnett is an example of someone who wants to see his name in the paper, and who wants to develop a bit of notoriety.

A nine-month ban for improper practice certainly helped him achieve the latter.

At what point is an agent necessary to the prelude of a transfer? If a club is interested in a player, they’re free to negotiate with the relevant club – there’s nothing else to it. There needs to be more transparency and clarity brought to this process, because it’s all become so messy.

The sporting directors of Barcelona, or Real Madrid, or whoever else, will all know of the value Daniel Levy places on Bale, so at what point is Barnett’s involvement necessary here?

Watching an agent trying to start a public auction for a player is one of most grating aspects of modern football – it’s always an attempt to force the hand of the parent club.

Very, very rarely is there a ‘need’ for agents to talk to the press, and if they were all gagged and prevented from doing so, then the football world would be a better place.

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