While VfB Stuttgart battle with Brighton and Hove Albion to sign Deniz Undav on a permanent basis, it seems in Germany the lawyers have started to question matters.
Kicker cover the situation today and have been in touch with the lawyers, to discuss the validity of buy-back clauses.
The newspaper debates whether such clauses are legal, or indeed valid, and believes that there may be legal disputes on the horizon in the near future because of them.
For the uninitiated, Stuttgart want to buy Undav on a permanent basis this summer after his successful loan spell at the club from Brighton last season.
They activated a purchase clause to do that but were soon countered by Brighton, who used their own buy-back clause to essentially block the move and bring matters to a screeching halt.
If it weren’t for that clause, the striker, who has made it clear through words and actions that he wants the move and not a return to Brighton, a deal would have been done and an already drawn-out saga would be at an end.
Instead, the matter has been moving at a slowly, almost glacial pace, something the Germans are less than impressed by. In fact, it seems they’re questioning the validity of buy-back clauses at all.
“It is unclear whether buy-back clauses are legally permissible,” Prof. Dr. Philipp Fischinger is quoted as saying.
“The clauses common in football, which provide for a right of repurchase within two or, if necessary, three seasons, are likely to be legal.
“Longer periods should be viewed critically with a view to the player’s personal rights and professional freedom. They could fall victim to judicial control.”
The newspaper then adds that it ‘cannot be ruled out’ that there will be a ‘legal dispute’ over the issue of buy-back options at some point in the near future.
They argue that with the clauses being used more frequently in the modern game and even causing some trends on the transfer market, it means more and more questions are going to be raised.
