Proof of some or all of these elements may be done in writing, though contracts may be made entirely orally or by conduct. The remedy for breach of contract can be "damages" in the form of compensation of money or specific performance enforced through an injunction. Both of these remedies award the party at loss the "benefit of the bargain" or expectation damages, which are greater than mere reliance damages, as in promissory estoppel. in this case the parties involved are the football player and the football club in the presence of a third party the player's agent.
In the past players used to stay faithful to the contract that ties them to a club and they honour it to the fullest, only in cases when the club is willing to sell and a reasonable agreement has been reached with the player.
Many players since the introduction of transfer in the game of football have moved to other clubs in that way and manner which proved to be more honorable and decent.
Contrast to recent times beginning with the Cristiano Ronaldo transfer saga between Real Madrid and his club Manchester United. Players have succeeded in shifting the power of contracts to their direction or can I simply say they have rendered the value of contracts useless.
What is in it for a club when a player can just throw his toys out of the pram after one or two good seasons and pretty much go on strike? Perhaps it is time to abolish long-term contracts in football.
Because, what is the point of Gareth Bale "committing his future" to Tottenham with a four-year deal last summer, when he is apparently desperate to move to Real Madrid 12 months later? Equally, Luis Suárez was extremely happy to extend his contract at Anfield – on improved terms, of course – before the start of last season.
Suárez said at the time: "I hope to play for many years here. This is a great team and everyone around the world knows Liverpool. To sign a new contract with Liverpool is unbelievable for me because I am so happy here at both the club and also in the city.
"That is important for me and I am very happy with my new contract. I am happy off the pitch because the people of Liverpool are good with me and my family. I try my best on the pitch and when you are happy off the pitch, you are happy on the pitch."
Nine months – and one 10-game suspension for biting an opponent – later and Suárez is clearly not happy on or off the pitch or anywhere in the north-west of England, although you wonder whether the situation would be different had Liverpool qualified for the Champions League.
Either way, the clubs are in almost an impossible situation. They give players long-term contracts on improved terms in the hope that they will be loyal but, of course, they are not. If they don't give them four- or five-year deals they risk losing them on a free after one or two seasons. The players, as so often, are the winners.
So here we are. Another summer and another transfer saga. Or should that be transfer sagas? Surely, it used to be only one transfer saga a summer a few years ago. It was Steven Gerrard to Chelsea. Then it was Cristiano Ronaldo to Real Madrid. And then it was Cesc Fábregas to Barcelona.
Now, for some reason, there seems to have been a most unwelcome proliferation in deals that are set to drag on and on. This summer we have, of course, Gareth Bale to Real Madrid. That's the big one. But we also have Luis Suárez to Arsenal and Wayne Rooney to Chelsea.
First it was Wayne Rooney who requested a transfer back in May at Manchester United. The 27-year-old England number 10 suffered with form and fitness with the Red Devils in Sir Alex Ferguson’s final season at Old Trafford, incidentally, following the arrival of Golden Boot winner Robin van Persie from Arsenal last summer.
Rooney’s desire (according to reports) is to sign for Premier League rivals Chelsea under their new leader Jose Mourinho. However, Rooney is still under contract at Old Trafford and recently-installed boss David Moyes remains adamant he is not for sale. The club even confirmed they had rejected two bids from the Blues.
Meanwhile, over on Merseyside, Liverpool striker Luis Suarez has come out publicly to state his desire to leave the club after two years, citing their lack of Champions League involvement as his primary concern as he edges closer and closer to the exit at Anfield. He has, in effect, made his position almost untenable.
Down south in North London, Tottenham have been David fighting Goliath as they try to hold tight of PFA Player of the Year Gareth Bale and keep him from the mighty clutches of Real Madrid.
Bale has not said a word – at least not publicly- to give any indication that wants to go, or stay, for that matter. He has remained silent throughout the saga of which he is at the centre and has let the two clubs hash it out around him but I suspect if he has or does break his silence in-house and tell the club he wants to leave (if he hasn’t already) Spurs may take the bags of cash and bid farewell to their Welshman.
Last summer, Arsenal had much the same happen to them as star striker Robin van Persie engineered his move to Manchester United – the difference in his case, however, was that he was entering the final year of his contract which made his hand a little stronger and the Gunners’ all the more weak. However, their hands weren’t exactly tied – they could have kept him and let him run his contract down.
Which, incidentally, is exactly what Borussia Dortmund seem to be intent on doing in the case of their star striker Robert Lewandowski who has been ardently trying to engineer a move to Bundesliga rivals and European champions Bayern Munich.
Dortmund have kept a solid stance on the matter and repeatedly insisted he will not be sold to which the player has thrown his toys out of the proverbial pram and claimed the club have ‘betrayed’ him. Well, well.
Suarez signed his future over to Liverpool until 2018 – if he didn’t want to, he shouldn't have signed the contract. Rooney still has two years to go on his £250,000 a week deal that he signed in 2010. That’s the idea, anyway.
But, alas, in practice, players know they have the power to force a move – at least in the majority of high-profile cases – because they’re worth so much money to their clubs so no one wants to let them go on a Bosman free. Being constantly faced with all this series of transfer saga each summer, one cannot help but wonder if contracts really mean anything in modern day football.
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