- 2 days ago
Another day, another "bombshell" update on the Alexander Isak transfer saga between Newcastle and Liverpool. This time, the player himself has taken to Instagram to reiterate his stance that promises have been broken, while the club deny any were ever made.So what's really going on? And why has every small detail of this played out in public? Adam Clery explains how this saga perfectly illustrates how transfer stories are used by clubs, players, agents, and journalists, as part of their very business model.
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00:00Right, hello there everybody, Adam Cleary here from the Adam Cleary Football Channel and Alexander Isak to Liverpool.
00:10I've had enough. Now cards completely on the table, if and when Alexander Isak looks like he's going to Liverpool,
00:17you will be getting a how does Alexander Isak fit in Liverpool system video from me with a smile on
00:24my face.
00:24But we're not. We're not there yet. And instead, where we are is in the middle of the messiest club
00:32to club transfer I have ever seen.
00:36Right. Liverpool want Alexander Isak. Alexander Isak wants to go to Liverpool and Newcastle are even pretty willing sellers,
00:45like under two pretty reasonable criteria, like can they get a replacement lined up and will they meet his valuation?
00:51Now I think those two criteria will soften as the window goes, but for right now, that's where we are.
00:57So nothing's actually happening right now and yet not a single day is going by without another seemingly contradictory report
01:06being leaked by either one of the clubs or Isak's camp directly.
01:10So just, I wanted to do this video because by showing you what is going on with the Isak transfer,
01:15I think it's a really perfect example of how news functions during a transfer window now.
01:22So A, should be great for my sanity and B, you might actually learn something.
01:30Right. So even more cards on the table.
01:33Yes, I am a Newcastle United fan.
01:35And yes, in an ideal world, Alexander Isak would not leave my football club.
01:40He would love playing there and stay forever and ever.
01:42However, I'm not in the business of getting pretend angry on camera for views or having really bad faith opinions
01:49for money.
01:50So I can absolutely understand a 25-year-old who thinks he can treble his wages
01:56and compete for the very top honours in his industry being in a rush to move from Newcastle to Liverpool.
02:03I don't actually begrudge him any of this.
02:06And if you are sitting there thinking,
02:08but Adam, it's not about the fact he wants to move, it's the way he's gone about it,
02:13then this is the video for you.
02:16Because every single thing you know about this or any other transfer
02:20is a carefully managed battlefield of PR
02:24where all the information comes directly from one of three sources.
02:29The actual player himself does virtually nothing.
02:33They are not reading your tweets.
02:35They are completely insulated from public opinion.
02:38They just want to play football,
02:40ideally for the club that's going to pay them the most amount of money.
02:45And as for the clubs,
02:46they want to be seen to have won every particular transfer,
02:49either by going out and getting the player they wanted to get,
02:52or by being seen to drive a really hard bargain,
02:56being unwilling sellers,
02:57but getting a good deal in the process.
02:59And thus, what is really important to remember,
03:02at all times if you dare to go on the internet or pick up a newspaper,
03:05is that every single thing you see reported in these transfer stories
03:12is true.
03:13Or to, like, crowbar in a Star Wars reference here,
03:17it's true from a certain point of view.
03:21From a certain point of view.
03:22Because, you know, I don't know if you've noticed this,
03:24but journalism in the traditional sense
03:26it's kind of been on its arse for like
03:2920 or 30 years now.
03:32One of the few elements of it that still makes any money
03:35is football.
03:37There is a near 365-day news cycle.
03:39You can throw reaction and opinion
03:41into the most boring of actual events.
03:43Transfer rumours swirl all year round.
03:45And every summer,
03:46you get this fucking circus of information
03:49where the clubs themselves are actually desperate
03:52for some good publicity.
03:54Thus, this is the one time of the year
03:56when they will very happily brief
03:58any journalist they've got good relationships with
04:01about the latest exciting saga
04:04to the transfer story
04:05that all their readers are interested in.
04:08Thus, because it is of interest to those readers,
04:11it winds up getting published
04:12and it's come from the only credible source
04:15it possibly could have.
04:17It's just that nobody has the time
04:19or the inclination
04:20to start pulling it apart.
04:22Case in point, just this week,
04:24one day all the Newcastle-based press
04:26are reporting that progress has been made
04:28on potentially reintegrating Isak
04:31into the squad
04:32and to be open to working his way back
04:35into the club
04:36if a transfer isn't going to happen.
04:38And just to spell out how that works,
04:40that information will almost certainly
04:42have come from Newcastle United directly
04:44who, having met with the player,
04:46feel that that is a real possibility.
04:48But the thing is,
04:50that is not the reason
04:51why you want that story out in the public domain.
04:55You do it because it makes Newcastle's
04:57negotiating position with both Liverpool
04:59and the clubs they're trying to buy replacements from
05:02that much stronger.
05:04All right, well, you know,
05:05if you guys aren't going to stump up the 150 million
05:07then he's actually,
05:08you know, he might be pretty happy to stay.
05:10And if you guys are going to drive
05:12too hard a bargain
05:13on like Visser or Jackson or Watkins
05:15then, you know,
05:16we're not in as desperate a position
05:17as you might think.
05:18Now those clubs may or may not believe that
05:21and they might have information
05:22that may or may not contradict it.
05:25But when your back's against the wall,
05:27it's about the smartest thing you can do.
05:29But then, literally the very next day,
05:32apparently Alexander Isak
05:33has told Newcastle
05:35that he will never play for the club again
05:37even if he isn't sold.
05:40Which, of course,
05:41immediately takes Newcastle's position
05:43which has been strengthened by yesterday's story
05:45and then weakens it considerably.
05:47Because you can't hang on
05:48to a 150 million pound player
05:51and let him rot in the reserves
05:52when there's like 110, 120 million pound offer
05:56just on the table there, can you?
05:58And again, just to spell that out for you,
06:00that information
06:01probably doesn't come from Liverpool
06:03because they would know
06:04the innermost workings
06:05of the player's mind.
06:07But it can come from his representatives instead
06:10who, seeing that his stance
06:12may be softening a little bit
06:14at the training ground
06:15but knowing that he does actually
06:16really want the move,
06:17will advise him
06:18that he needs to take
06:19the strongest possible line.
06:21Well, I mean, yeah,
06:22obviously I want the really big,
06:24exciting move.
06:25But if it's, you know,
06:26it's not going to happen,
06:26I might as well
06:27start to build some bridges.
06:28No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.
06:31You'll never get it that way.
06:33Leave it to us.
06:34We'll put a story out for you.
06:35So just as quickly
06:36the narrative becomes
06:37that Newcastle need to accept
06:38they're in a losing position,
06:40stop trying to get the full whack,
06:41just take what's available,
06:43move and counter move.
06:45Moves and counter moves.
06:47But crucially,
06:48all reported in very good faith
06:50by the journalists involved
06:52and to the best of their knowledge,
06:54completely true,
06:55which it all probably was.
06:57Like, one thing
06:59working in journalism
07:00teaches you repeatedly
07:01is that two things
07:03can absolutely be true
07:05even if they seem
07:06to contradict themselves.
07:08The world is not so boring
07:10that that is not a possibility.
07:12So just to bring that
07:12all back together
07:13and draw a nice,
07:14neat line for you,
07:15and bear in mind,
07:15I am speculating as much
07:17as anybody in this situation.
07:18What's the truth of the matter?
07:20Well, Isak does clearly
07:21desperately want to leave Newcastle,
07:23but is probably open
07:24to doing his best for them
07:25if that doesn't happen.
07:26But is camp determined
07:27to force the move
07:28will have told him
07:29that's the wrong stance to take
07:30and for now,
07:31the line is
07:32you will never play again.
07:34But the problem
07:34with the truth is in the middle
07:37somewhere
07:37is that that's
07:38not particularly explosive.
07:40It's not very exciting.
07:41It's never going to get
07:42a lot of eyeballs on it.
07:43So rather than bring
07:44the whole thing together
07:45and come out with
07:46the far less interesting narrative,
07:48you just put those updates
07:50out there
07:51as soon as you get them
07:52before somebody else does.
07:54So what I'm trying
07:55to tell you here,
07:56and yes, we will represent this
07:57with a lovely looking graph, right,
07:59is the reason
08:00behind you hearing
08:01anything to do
08:03with a player's transfer, right,
08:05whether it's from Club A
08:06or Club B
08:07or the players' representatives
08:08or just the reporters themselves, right,
08:10the reason
08:10that information
08:12gets to you
08:13is
08:15money.
08:16They're doing it
08:17because of money.
08:18It's literally
08:19just about money.
08:20They want to make
08:21more money.
08:22How the money works
08:24for the clubs
08:24is obvious.
08:25The sellers want
08:26the maximum amount
08:27and the buyers
08:27want to get a good deal.
08:29You do not need me
08:30to explain
08:30that side of it to you.
08:32But the other two
08:34are...
08:35Yeah.
08:36Alexander Resak's
08:37management company,
08:38Universal 22,
08:39does not have,
08:40in the context
08:41of him as a client,
08:43what you consider
08:44to be a balanced roster.
08:45Modric is obviously
08:46an enormous talent,
08:47but a 39
08:48is not going to get them
08:49a hugely lucrative
08:51transfer deal,
08:52despite him being linked
08:53to one pretty much
08:54every single summer
08:54for the last six years.
08:56No comment from me there.
08:58And Emi Martinez
08:58is obviously
08:59a brilliant goalkeeper,
09:00but valued at around
09:0120 or 30 million.
09:03And don't get me wrong,
09:04I certainly wouldn't mind
09:05getting my percentage
09:06of that deal,
09:07but certainly
09:08it is nothing
09:09compared to a potential
09:11150 million pound,
09:1325-year-old,
09:14so you might get
09:15another one out of him,
09:16centre-forward.
09:16The constant stream
09:18of information
09:18given out to the press
09:20about this transfer
09:21is so aggressively designed
09:23to play both Newcastle
09:26and Liverpool.
09:27To weaken the bargaining
09:28position of his current club
09:29so they feel that a sale
09:31is inevitable,
09:31but also to keep
09:33the buying club
09:33on the hook
09:34and interested in the move
09:36despite the clear difference
09:38in valuation
09:38and the fact that clearly
09:40Liverpool did not set out
09:41this summer
09:42with the single aim
09:43of bringing in
09:44Alexander Resak.
09:45It's an opportunistic
09:47buy for them
09:47because they think
09:48he's available
09:49and the reason they think
09:51that is because
09:51they're told he is.
09:52But just to put that
09:53in even simpler terms,
09:55Liverpool do not need
09:57Alexander Resak
09:58by any stretch
09:58of the imagination,
09:59but he is such
10:00an unbelievable player
10:01in such a small market
10:03that's hardly any
10:04good forward.
10:05If you think he's
10:06desperate to come to you
10:07and you have got the money,
10:09you do just sort of need
10:10to make that happen.
10:12And you have read
10:13a hundred times
10:14this summer
10:15that Isak
10:15is desperate
10:17to go to Liverpool.
10:18He only wants Liverpool.
10:19He's going on strike.
10:20He's never playing
10:21for Newcastle United again.
10:23And all it's led to
10:24is a solitary bid
10:26of a hundred
10:27and ten million.
10:28And Liverpool
10:29apparently are very happy
10:30to go back to the table
10:32and improve that
10:32if Newcastle United
10:34open the door,
10:35which both teams
10:36apparently very cordially
10:38currently consider closed.
10:40About to close.
10:41You're a bunch of
10:42f***ing vandals
10:42and I can't police
10:43but I want to deal
10:44with you myself.
10:45And they're closed.
10:46He's gone.
10:47And you would think,
10:48you know,
10:48if a player was so desperate
10:49to leave,
10:50why not force the club's hand
10:51and hand in
10:53a formal transfer request?
10:54And again,
10:56the reason for that
10:57is money.
10:59Most clubs now
10:59have clauses
11:00written into your contract
11:01that handing in
11:02a transfer request,
11:03i.e.
11:04forcing that club to sell,
11:06you taking the power
11:07out of their hands
11:08means you can forfeit
11:09your loyalty bonus,
11:10you can forfeit
11:11a number of fees,
11:12you can forfeit
11:13your share
11:13of what's outstanding
11:15on your contract,
11:16which is usually
11:17supposed to be covered
11:18by the transfer fee.
11:19And with three years
11:20left to go on
11:21said contract,
11:22it is not an exaggeration
11:24to say
11:24that handing in
11:25a transfer request
11:26could legitimately
11:27cost him,
11:29or more accurately,
11:30his team,
11:31millions,
11:31if not tens
11:33of millions of pounds here.
11:34And in all likelihood,
11:35they will have asked Liverpool,
11:37well, if we do that,
11:38will you reimburse us
11:39for the money we lose?
11:41And Liverpool
11:41quite likely have said
11:42no,
11:43gets to fuck,
11:44so that is in all probability
11:46why they haven't done it.
11:47But what about
11:48the final piece
11:49to this puzzle,
11:50right,
11:50which is
11:51why do we know all this?
11:53Why does every
11:54tiny,
11:55minute,
11:55little detail
11:56of this story
11:57get released
11:58seemingly on a daily basis
11:59before either getting
12:00debunked,
12:01denied,
12:01or just contradicted
12:03within about 24 hours?
12:04Well,
12:05it's probably not
12:06going to shock you
12:07at this point.
12:08Also because of money.
12:10And people
12:11with anonymous Twitter accounts
12:12with like nine followers
12:13will tell you
12:14that everything
12:15is a conspiracy
12:16against their club
12:18specifically,
12:18and that these journalists,
12:20right,
12:20they've either got
12:21profound biases
12:22that they are driven by,
12:23or they are paid
12:24directly by the clubs
12:26to report certain things.
12:28And I can reveal
12:29exclusively to you now
12:31that having spent
12:31the last two years
12:32going from low-key
12:34believing all that
12:35to working
12:36in the industry
12:37and sharing a desk
12:38with some of these people,
12:41that they do
12:42not give a shit
12:44about your club
12:46or any club,
12:48really,
12:48or largely even football
12:49outside of work.
12:52This is just their job.
12:53Now,
12:54I don't know
12:54if you have noticed
12:55how much worse
12:56this all seems
12:57to have gotten,
12:58specifically in the last
13:00two years,
13:01right?
13:01Because prior to like
13:022023,
13:03yeah,
13:03deadline day
13:04was a little bit
13:05OTT,
13:05but by and large,
13:06it was all just sort of
13:07rumors and whispers,
13:08and then finally,
13:10here we go.
13:11But now,
13:12now it's insane.
13:13And the reason for that,
13:15sort of what this is all about.
13:16In 2023,
13:18Twitter formally introduced
13:20monetization of accounts.
13:22They pay you fractions
13:23of pennies
13:24for your engagements
13:25and your interactions.
13:26And so for 99.999999999%
13:30of all users,
13:31it's not really realistic
13:33as a revenue stream.
13:35But if you can push
13:36your views
13:37and your interactions
13:38on the platform
13:39into the millions,
13:41into the tens of millions,
13:42into the hundreds of millions,
13:43all of a sudden,
13:44that can start to make you
13:46four,
13:47five,
13:48six figures a month.
13:49Transfer season
13:50is to verify
13:52journalists on Twitter
13:53what a sunny World Cup is
13:55to any bars
13:56that have a telly in them.
13:58If seemingly explosive info
14:00comes their way,
14:01it is actively against
14:02their self-interest
14:04if they don't publish that.
14:06Like, and again,
14:07don't get me wrong,
14:07they do not make
14:09this shit up.
14:10They would not have
14:11the jobs they have,
14:12be in the positions
14:13they are in,
14:13have the audiences
14:14they've got,
14:15unless they were
14:16legit and trusted
14:18and usually
14:19quite reliable.
14:20But to receive a story
14:21from an agent
14:22or a manager
14:23or a player
14:23or a club
14:24and not just run with it
14:26is of no interest to them.
14:28The sooner you realise
14:30that most journalists now,
14:31even the ones
14:32with the really top jobs,
14:33are just running
14:35a business
14:35the same way
14:36that the clubs are,
14:37the same way
14:38that the agents are,
14:39and that by engaging
14:40with this news cycle,
14:41replying to it,
14:43sharing it,
14:43having an emotional reaction
14:45to it,
14:46one way or another,
14:47you are the product,
14:49the more sense
14:50all of this starts to make.
14:53Oh yes,
14:53and also,
14:54that somewhere between
14:55like 20 and 60%
14:57of all accounts
14:58on social media
14:59are now
15:00not actually
15:02people.
15:03They're bots.
15:04Bots specifically designed
15:05to agitate you further
15:07so that you will keep
15:08engaging with the stuff
15:09it is
15:10you would normally
15:11engage with,
15:12whether that's sport
15:13or politics
15:14or whatever.
15:15They buzz around you
15:16and keep you on the website
15:17for longer
15:17so they keep your eyeballs
15:19on the ads.
15:20That's obviously also
15:22a bit of a factor.
15:23So yes,
15:24just to round all this up,
15:25I do think
15:26Alexander Isak
15:27will go to Liverpool
15:28and when he does,
15:30best of luck to him
15:31is all I have to say
15:33because I will be
15:33forming my opinion
15:34completely
15:35based on what
15:36I've seen him do
15:37in a black and white shirt
15:39not what I read
15:41on the internet
15:42and I advise you
15:43to do so too.
15:44So yes,
15:45just to wrap up
15:46this extended editorial
15:47about how the internet
15:48is completely,
15:49completely evil
15:50and single-handedly
15:51responsible
15:52for the crumbling fabric
15:54of our delicate,
15:55delicate society.
15:56Why not subscribe
15:57to us here
15:58on ACFC
15:59where we do
15:59far more normal videos
16:00about tactics
16:01and players
16:01and match previews
16:02and match reviews
16:03and yes,
16:03if Isak does go
16:04at Liverpool,
16:05we will have one
16:06here about him
16:07and you don't want
16:07to miss that
16:08so clicky,
16:08clicky
16:09and of course
16:11you can get me
16:11across all the social
16:12medias
16:13at Adam Cleary
16:13C-L-E-L-Y
16:14because I should have
16:15the strength
16:15shouldn't I
16:16to give all of those up
16:17but I just don't
16:18not yet,
16:19none of us do
16:20so I will be over there
16:21and I will be being fun
16:22and hopefully
16:23I'll see you there as well.
16:25So until next time
16:26that's how football works
16:28in a transfer window.
16:29That's what the press
16:30is right now.
16:32Hope you've learned
16:32something.
16:33Goodbye.
16:34Bye.
16:35You
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