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Football is far beyond just being a sport. Along with bringing in intense clashes on the field, a lot happens in the workshop. We all know for a fact that the sport has changed a lot in recent years.
A gigantic influx of money has transitioned the way the game looks and the same sport which once was all about 22 men chasing a ball is getting more and more glamorous season after season.
Few players have turned out to be a brand within themselves and as for the clubs, their sources of income have widened from ticket sales and television rights to jersey sales, social media income and stock/brand value.
While we discuss all these variables, there is one piece that welds these two on-and-off the pitch elements together. Player agents!
No matter how talented a player is, the better the agent, the bigger the club they'll play for and the better their contracts will be. They don a really important role within the world of football.
To explain it in a simple language, a certain Santiago Muñez would never have arrived in EPL without his agent Glen Foy. Enough movie references. While we have talked about player agents, let us discuss the best of them within arguably the best football league.
5 player agencies that represent the most Premier League players
#5 SEG - Sports Entertainment Group — 7 players
The Netherlands-based sports company — Sports Entertainment Group, aka SEG, has over 300+ clients in the form of players and managers. They have seven of their clients playing in the Premier League on decent contracts.
Serving some big names within Dutch football like Memphis Depay and Robin Van Persie, SEG has earned a reputation for being a top-level agency.
Within the Premier League, they have got William Troost-Ekong (Watford), Kristoffer Ajer (Brentford), Jürgen Locadia (Brighton), Will Smallbone (Southampton), Mateusz Klich (Leeds), Ki-Jana Hoever (Wolverhampton), and Jairo Riedewald (Crystal Palace).
#4 Gestifute — 20 players
Gestifute has its roots in Portugal but operates worldwide. They boast over 150+ clients, out of which 20 take part in England's top-tier football.
The man at the helm of Gestifute — Jorge Mendes — is a highly popular figure within the world of football. The Portugal-based player agency extends their service to almost every Portuguese player.
Some of the major names include Cristiano Ronaldo, Bernardo Silva and Diogo Jota, among others. They also serve a handful of South American stars.
Angel Di Maria, Ederson, Fabinho, etc., are few of the notable clients of Gestifute.
#3 Unique Sports Management — 28
Unique Sports Management is the go-to agency for budding talent within England. Over the course of years, the player agency has only grown in numbers and in terms of reputation.
Since 2008, Unique Sports Management has had a part to play in some of the lucrative contract deals and major transfers. The company currently represents 150+ players on an elite level and has 28 of them deployed within the Premier League's top clubs.
Liverpool legend Robbie Fowler is a client of USM (Unique Sports Management). The agency's expertise does not just lie in earning its clients attractive deals but also in getting them catchy off-field offers in the form of endorsements.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka (Manchester United), Reece James (Chelsea), Andros Townsend (Everton), and Aaron Cresswell (West Ham) are some of the notable clients of the agency.
#2 Wasserman — 34
Established in 1998 by founder Casey Wasserman, Wasserman company kept on expanding at an impressive pace. Various mergers and acquisitions helped Wasserman branch itself into various sports and increase its access.
In 2006, Wasserman acquired a UK-based SFX agency paving the way to be able to represent some of the big names within the sport during that time. Steven Gerrard, Robbie Keane, Jamie Carragher, Michael Owen, Tim Cahill, Wes Brown, Jack Wilshere, Tim Howard and Emile Heskey were some of those.
It was a game-changer for the agency as they started to become widely recognized within the Premier League. Ever since, Wasserman kept on adding more and more players to its client list.
As of now, Wasserman represents 34 players in the Premier League and over 700+ in total.
Jamie Vardy (Leicester), Aymeric Laporte (Man City), Nathan Aké (Man City), John Stones (Man City), André Gomes (Everton), Joe Gomez (Liverpool), and Tyrone Mings (Aston Villa) are some of Wasserman's leading clients.
#1 ICM Stellar Sports — 42
One of the biggest and the most successful sporting companies in the world — ICM Stellar Sports — was co-founded by Jonathan Barnett. Barnett is a highly influential figure when it comes to business matters within football.
From Gareth Bale and Jack Grealish's mammoth deal + salary to Eduardo Camavinga's deadline day signing, ICM Stellar Sports have had a major role to play in numerous deals.
The London-based agency enjoys a client base of over 670+ and represents about 42 (the most) players within the EPL. Boasting strong ties with major Premier League clubs, ICM extends its services to some of the best in the league.
Mason Mount (Chelsea), Jack Grealish (Man City), Luke Shaw (Man United), Ibrahima Konate (Liverpool), Ben Davies (Spurs), Ben Chilwell (Chelsea), etc., are ICM Stellar Sports' clients.
