Some time ago, a friend was describing to me the last stages of a somewhat acrimonious divorce. He was telling me how difficult it had been to reach a financial settlement for him and how it was not made easier by the process of both parties negotiating through their solicitors whose approach seemed rigid. He described how the financial settlement between the parties had reached the point of agreement on the sums involved but that he would have to wait months for his settlement as the ‘other side’ - as he described it - needed to crystallise some assets and could not do so without penalty for some time. This created some problems for my friend. I suggested that he might offer to accept the delay provided that he could share in some of the bounty the other side would achieve by delaying. He suggested this to his solicitor who said that he could not charge interest – so, said I, call it something else – the name doesn’t matter provided that you get the outcome you want! It’s a pretty classic “if you…then I”.
On a related topic, I am a very long-term fan of Manchester United football club. Recent years have tried the patience of fans – me included - but with the new ownership, hope is returning (or is it blind faith?). A couple of transfer deals at the club have recently caught my eye. The first one is for a United player, Mason Greenwood, who in 2022 was charged with a number of offences against a woman but the charges were dropped after a few months although he did not appear for the club again. He is a very good player and was on loan for a period last year. The club have just concluded a deal to sell him to Marseille for £26.6M. In the crazy telephone numbers world of football transfers, this player is cheap – many would argue that his market value, free from the taint of allegations about his behaviour, could be twice that figure. But if you look at the smaller print, you see that, by letting him leave cheaply, Manchester United have rid themselves of an expensive problem – they were still paying his astronomical wages until his contract ended – but they have wrapped into the deal that if his new club sell him on during the course of his new contract, United get 50% of any future fee. They have cleverly rid themselves of a problem as his presence at the club was controversial and it is very unlikely that he would have played again for them, but Marseille, who have bought a good player cheaply have to indemnify United if Greenwood performs well and other wealthy clubs come shopping for him in the future.
While all of this was going on, United acquired two new players – Joshua Zirkzee (for £36.5M) and the defender Lenny Yore for £52M. In Zirkzee’s case, United have a clause in the five year contract to extend the deal for a further year if they wish to do so. In the case of Yoro, the team he is leaving get £52M – a healthy profit – but also have provision in the contract which will push the fee up to £60M if the player meets certain unspecified targets (usually related to winning competitions).
In the world of football these are called “add-ons” – enhancements to make the deal more acceptable, but on conditions. Like my divorcing friend, these add-ons can be what pushes a deal from being marginal to being acceptable. They are all conditional, involving one party doing something the other party wants and they are not immediate – a carrot rather than a stick if you like. So, when you next do a deal – think about the potential for add-ons –enrichment for the future which makes the deal in the here and now that bit more acceptable.
