20 years ago Jean-Marc Bosman’s influence affected changes in the football transfer market. His demands saw previous transfer regulations challenged. In an interview given to Marca, Bosman took pride in his achievements and said, “If Cristiano and Messi win what they win, it’s thanks to me.”

“They are allowed to play together with the best players in the Europe at their clubs and thanks to that they can win more titles and money.”

“We have already seen that, when they are with the national team, it’s not so easy to win.”

The pivotal transfer saga

Back in the year 1990, Jean-Marc Bosman was plying his trade as a midfielder for the Belgian club RFC Liege. He had been playing for Liege for about two years and the contract was nearing its end. An offer for Bosman came in from Dunkirk in France and the only thing that stopped him from moving was the transfer fee that the clubs needed to decide.

Liege demanded £250,000 which was way more than what Dunkirk were willing to pay. The deal collapsed and Bosman’s wages were cut by 75%. As a result of which he was stuck and it served a major blow to his footballing career. He sought help from a lawyer called Jean-Louis Dupont. Their duel with the authorities continued for years as no one took them seriously. Meanwhile with time, the wheels started turning and eventually the court ruled in Bosman’s favour. But by that time two years of his career had been wasted living in a garage. This ruling came in December 15, 1995.

The balance of power was shifted from clubs to players. All players in Europe, according to Article 48 of the Treaty of Rome, were granted freedom of movement anywhere in Europe. The ruling made it possible for various clubs to approach a certain player after they ran out of a contract with their respective clubs. Earlier when a player ran down their contract, they could only be bought for a certain high price that most clubs could not match.

With the famed ‘Bosman ruling’, the transfer market changed and it became possible for other clubs to sign a player provided they came up with a wage package better than others.

Bosman, who became persona-non-grata for every footballing club after the ruling, could not manage to prolong his professional career. He lives in poverty in Belgium having suffered much in life, recently bemoaning his misfortune in life, saying, “I won in court. But I am the one who has paid and paid and paid.”

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