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We Spoke to Veteran Soccer Agent Rob Jansen about Brexit, Ronald Koeman and China

We visited veteran football agent Rob Jansen – whose clients include Ronald Koeman and Daley Blind – to discuss the latest developments in the wild world of transfers.
All photos by Kas van Vliet

This article was originally published on VICE Sports Netherlands

The January transfer window is well underway and, owing to Chinese millions, plenty of bizarre stuff has already happened. Rob Jansen is overseeing the developments from his office in the Hilton The Hague, when he's there at least. The general director of Team Wasserman is constantly on the road for clients like Ronald Koeman, Dirk Kuyt, Dick Advocaat, Daley Blind and Edwin van der Sar. Previously, he has represented Dutch stars like Philip Cocu, Patrick Kluivert, Dennis Bergkamp, and many more.

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Rob is also the president of the EFAA, the European Football Agents Association. In this role, he regularly sits down with FIFA and UEFA to talk about transfer regulations. He knows his stuff, having facilitated over 900 transfers in his career so far, and has managed over 260 players and coaches. VICE Sports visited Rob in his office in the Hilton, to talk about his work and the latest developments in the world of transfers.

VICE Sports: Hi Rob. What do you expect this transfer window to be like?

Rob Jansen: England will go crazy again. I don't expect a lot here in the Netherlands. The clubs in the Netherlands don't have the money. Italy always has a few surprises. They always manage to secure a place in the top three or four when it comes to spending money on transfers.

Chinese clubs are buying players with insane transfer fees and salaries at the moment. What do you think about these developments?

I have my doubts about the effect it has on the development of football as a sport. We have seen similar cases like this in Japan, the Middle East and the United States before. After a while, people usually come to their senses. Right now we are at the peak, where huge amounts of money are being thrown around. Clubs, players and agents should take an offer like this if it comes along, there is no discussion about that, seriously. Almost every player will take the money, except the ones who play for clubs like Real Madrid and Manchester United. In those cases, probably not.

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So you think it will quieten down in a while?

Yes. I think right now its like organised chaos, with football academies, the Chinese government pumping money into football, club owners who spend money and clubs working together to spend big. The whistle blew and everybody started running. It will be like this for a while, and then people will start to reconsider as to whether it makes sense. I am sure of it.

Kas van Vliet

Team Wasserman manages some huge clients in England. What will Brexit mean for you as an agent?

When Brexit becomes a reality, we will be two years down the road, and English football doesn't want it to have an impact. So there will be a huge lobby to make sure there is no serious impact. This is an industry that makes billions of pounds. It will not be stopped just because some politician says he doesn't like Europe.

What was securing a move for Ronald Koeman from Southampton to Everton like, from your perspective?

It was not an easy transition. Ronald first changed his personal management, which is always tough at this level. He left another agent [Guido Albers] and came to me. After that, we had some serious talks with Everton before Ronald decided to leave Southampton. So it was a lot of work to get the transition done.

READ MORE: How Ronald Koeman Became the Netherlands' Top Managerial Export

How does a change of management like that work between you and another agent, in this case Guido Albers?

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I have known Guido for a long time. I brought him into the world of football. I have not spoken to Guido about it yet, but when a player or coach changes management, there are always issues between him and the former management. That is irrelevant to me. But, am I happy that Ronald came to me? Yes, of course. And it is also completely logical that Guido is disappointed. I go through that sometimes as well. It happens more often in football these days. Sometimes it feels horrible when a client leaves you, and sometimes you don't care at all.

You were one of the first people to say that transfer fees would exceed 100 million euros. They keep on rising. Where will this end?

It won't end. These amounts are determined by the people, they decide if they enjoy bread and circuses, like in the Roman empire. I work with the billionaires who buy football clubs. The clubs are toys for some of them, like Lego.

You have a very stressful job. What do you do to relax your mind?

I like to go to the gym, although I am getting older, so I get more injuries these days. I like to play golf every now and then, but preferably by myself. I don't want all the gossip, banter and jokes from a group of people around me. It gives me peace of mind to walk the course on my own.

Memorabilia from Roy Makaay's playing career on display in Jansen's office // Kas van Vliet

What do you think about the general image of agents in sports media?

I think it is fairly positive overall, and it is easy to explain why. Journalists have close ties to agents for scoops and stories. Everybody is working with everybody. Journalists and agents move carefully around each other to make sure they don't upset each other. Everybody knows this, and nobody really thinks this is a problem. Real, objective journalism does not exist in football anymore. For that, you have to travel back in time to the sixties.

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Are you still in contact with Mino Raiola?

I hope to God that I am not. Why on earth would I want that?

Well, he started out at your firm…

I have never reacted to Mino in the media and I don't really want to do that now. It would be pointless. It wouldn't make any difference if I spoke the truth about him.

Why not?

I don't want a reaction from him. Sometimes you have to protect yourself from certain types of people in life.

Alright. Different subject. You managed the last phase of Johnny Heitinga's career. What went wrong with him at Ajax last season?

I first helped Johnny in his transfer from Fulham to Hertha BSC. He started well in Berlin, but after a while things started to go wrong there. Then we decided we could get him a transfer to Ajax. We thought that it would be great for him to return to the Netherlands. We really hoped Johnny would contribute to a league title and then end his career. That was the plan. But then the coaches at Ajax started to doubt if Johnny could still perform. I didn't expect that, to be honest, but there was not much I could do about it.

It surprised me that Heitinga's physical issues didn't surface when the transfer was being done.

Yeah, that was questionable. At a certain point everybody started saying that Johnny was walking funny, but I said that he had walked like that since he was at Atletico Madrid. He has been walking like that ever since he had surgery. He played at the highest level there is, walking like that. I talked to Frank de Boer [then Ajax manager] about it. He and the other coaches thought Johnny could not perform at the highest level anymore, but Johnny was convinced he could still play well. I could not fix the situation, so we decided it was best for Johnny to end his career half a season after his return to Ajax. It was not the end Johnny wanted, but we were controlling the damage at that point.

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Daley Blind is not playing as much as he would like at Manchester United this season. His contract expires in 2018. Will you be looking for a new club this coming summer?

We are not at that point yet. I have not spoken to José Mourinho about the situation yet, because we want to wait and see what happens. It is too early to talk about a move. We see no reason to start saying stuff in the media. We just have to wait and see how Daley plays, so we can make a decision.

Kas van Vliet

Will this be Dirk Kuyt's last season as a professional football player?
You never know with Dirk. He might play until his son can play alongside him! I do have talks with Dirk, like I had with Johnny Heitinga, about when the time to stop might come. Dirk Kuyt should not sit on the bench too often. He should say goodbye with a title, actually. That would be great. But in the end, Dirk decides. He is still so fit, so strong.

Are you approaching the end of your career as an agent?
I can continue some aspects of my work for a long time yet. But I am already making sure that younger people are managing the younger clients at this firm, while I still impart what knowledge I have or use my network to make transfer deals. Luckily, I have never been the type to hang around players and try to be their best friend.

So, when will you take up your pension?

I will go on as long as my body and mind can. Look, stopping work is a weird thing, unless you really have to because of illness or something. Why do people have to stop working? If you stop challenging your mind, you get old really fast. Society tells us to stop working at some point. That's nonsense, as far as I'm concerned.

@SamRaalte