Player advisor Martin Wiesner: “Many football players don’t even know what is possible these days”

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Mr. Wiesner, you mediated players like Chapuisat, Sforza and Zuberbühler. How did you get involved?
Martin Wiesner: That was at a time when Swiss footballers did not yet play a role in the Bundesliga. Felix Magath met Chappi in the early 1990s as manager of Bayer Uerdingen in Lausanne. This transfer, which became a success story with Chappi’s later move to Dortmund, opened many doors in Germany – for the Swiss footballers and also for me as a player’s agent.

World-class footballers such as the Danish Pernille Harder and the Swedish Magdalena Eriksson now advise you. Why no more men?
The market for football players has changed drastically in recent years. Suddenly there is an incredible amount of money at stake. And there are characters everywhere who want a piece of the pie. As an intermediary you negotiate something good between the player and the interested club. Then someone comes along and promises he can get more here or there – and then the player is gone. This no longer matches my principles.

Which principles?
Consulting has always been a total package for me. It is not just about good contracts and the best possible wages. You also need to know all the tricks when drawing up contracts and transfers. And it is about finding sponsors and implementing marketing opportunities, support for personal development, advice on investments, pension provision and health protection.

And do the football players still appreciate this total package?
Yes, that is completely different from the men of today.

When did you realize there was a market for female footballers?
It didn’t exist when I started. I met Pernille Harder through my Danish colleague Klaus Granlund; I once played football with him at FC Baden. Today he is still an important business partner. I quickly realized that this woman had a plan, very clear ideas and the highest ambitions. She reminded me a lot of the young Ciriaco Sforza.

When did you become Harder’s advisor?
Pernille played for the Swedish club Linköppings FC. I took her to VFL Wolfsburg in Germany in December 2016. Then she grew into a world-class player.

How much money was involved at the time?
It was all about wages, which were only a modest amount compared to today’s amounts. But I did something crazy that didn’t even exist for women at the time. We have included an exit clause in the contract with a fixed transfer fee.

Barça’s 16-year-old gem Lamine Yamal also has such a clause. If a club wants to buy him out of the contract, they will have to pay a billion euros. How high was the Harder clause?
You can imagine that this was more of a symbolic amount at the time. It was supposed to be a door opener, and it worked.

Who bit?
Chelsea released Pernille from her contract in 2020 and paid Wolfsburg a transfer fee – that was a milestone in the development of women’s football. However, I would say: to date, there has not been a multi-million dollar transfer in women’s football. But it’s only a matter of time.

In the summer you transferred both Harder and Magdalena Eriksson from Chelsea Women to Bayern Munich. The two are also a couple in their private lives. Did that play a role in the transfer?
No, it didn’t matter that much. It is of course nice for the two that they can be together a lot and not live separately in strange cities.

There is great media interest in both.
That also shows how everything is developing positively. Women’s football is on the right track, both in terms of sport and marketing – at least in the major leagues.

Can you clarify that?
Nowadays it is common for every ambitious club in Germany to have a women’s team. Similar to how it used to be for the club’s internal training centers, which are now taken for granted. There is a lot of potential in women.

Financial potential?
Yes, it is of course no coincidence that the really big companies support women in football: Deutsche Bank in Frankfurt, VW in Wolfsburg, Audi in Munich. Women are in the spotlight – in all areas. This is a social development that offers many new possibilities. And there is a difference between female footballers and men.

Which?
They look forward to advertising and marketing appointments. They see the attention of companies as respect and recognition for their work, while such appointments are just a chore for many millionaire footballers.

Raimondo Ponte, with whom you once played at FC Baden, recently left the job as women’s coach at FC Aarau because the infrastructure was completely inadequate and the support base was far too small.
You are tackling a problem that threatens to become bigger: the successful clubs that fill even the largest stadiums in the Women’s Champions League and make money have long been investing in further development. This is extremely difficult in Switzerland, there is less interest and the market is smaller. This also applies to many comparable countries. There is a threat of a two-class society.

The European Championships will take place in Switzerland in 2025. A chance to catch up?
It’s really great to get such a big international stage. Many fans will come from abroad, the games will be shown on TV throughout Europe, the acceptance of this sport continues to grow and with it the belief that you should invest in it.

Is this more than wishful thinking?
Much more: there is already movement. Swiss television is involved, the media is reporting more and more, important positions are being created in the clubs, former players are taking on responsibility as coaches and there are more and more role models for young aspiring players. There’s definitely something growing there. This European Championship in their own country could be a big leap forward for Switzerland, a first spark.

Do you also take care of Swiss players?
Not at this time.

Why not?
I don’t even know how many Swiss players have a professional advisor. But what always strikes me is that many people don’t even know what is possible these days. And I don’t just mean transfers, but also marketing opportunities and personal sponsorship contracts. The doors are open wider than ever before.

You’re almost 65. Not tired of counseling yet?
No, that’s what I enjoy so much, being part of this rapid development. And I am also a bit proud that I believed in the future of women’s football so early, even when we were still on the starting field. That was also a risk for me that is now slowly but surely paying off. Especially in my field, trust and experience are the most important currencies.

Although I know you don’t want to talk about numbers: what does a world-class footballer earn today?
The best-paid female footballers in the world earn around 500,000 euros per year. But this peak is still very narrow. Rising viewing figures, viewership numbers and sponsorship dollars must also be accompanied by higher wages. That’s what I’m fighting for.

Everyone is talking about equal pay in football. But with this number it seems to me that we are still far from that.
That’s correct. But making demands is extremely important. Development is a process. And sometimes everything happens much faster than you think.

Source : Blick