There’s a reasonably high-profile athlete who is trying to leave his current team, probably for a bigger one, and as a result hasn’t lined up as expected in a big event. In his mind, he has fulfilled all that needs to be done to make the move happen, but there is one significant problem: he has a contract which runs until 2028.
Now, I could be talking about Derek Gee here, who was revealed last week to be attempting to terminate his contract with Israel-Premier Tech, and so isn’t at the Vuelta a España. The Canadian clearly believes that he is able to leave the team, releasing a statement which said “certain issues simply made my continuation at the team untenable”.
Actually, though, I’m talking about Alexander Isak, the Newcastle United striker, who has not played for his team in the Premier League yet this year, and is trying to force a move away. He released a similarly incendiary statement on his social media, saying that “when promises are broken and trust is lost, the relationship can’t continue”.
So far, so similar, especially as both Israel-Premier Tech and Newcastle have hit back, respectively, arguing that Gee and Isak are still under contract until 2028, and that isn’t going to change. It seems like a stalemate.
News editor at Cycling Weekly, Adam brings his weekly opinion on the goings on at the upper echelons of our sport. This piece is part of The Leadout, a newsletter series from Cycling Weekly and Cyclingnews. To get this in your inbox, subscribe here. As ever, email adam.becket@futurenet.com – should you wish to add anything, or suggest a topic.
While little is known about either of their motivations to leave, really, one can imagine there are finances involved, as well as the lure of playing or riding for a bigger team. This is natural, in the short career of a sportsperson.
There has also been speculation that Gee’s move has something to do with Israel’s continued war in Gaza, amidst increasing international criticism of the country’s actions, but this is an unconfirmed rumour, and Gee has ridden for the team throughout the 22-month long conflict. While the team has no official connection to the state of Israel, its owner, Sylvan Adams, has been vocal about his support for the country.
Where the Isak and Gee situations really differ, however, are in terms of transfers. Newcastle United could sell Isak to another club for a handsome sum; Liverpool are rumoured to have offered well over £100 million for the Swedish striker. In cycling there is no transfer system. A rider has to release themselves from their current contract and isn’t ‘officially’ allowed to even talk (via their agent) to another team until they are out of contract. Mid-contract moves are subject to three-party agreements, between teams and the rider, ratified by the UCI.
Transfers do happen, and have multiple times this season, in the cases of Remco Evenepoel, moving between Soudal Quick-Step and Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe, Charlotte Kool moving from Picnic PostNL to Fenix-Deceuninck, and Mathias Norsgaard leaving Movistar for Lidl-Trek.
In all these situations, compensation paid to a team a rider is leaving would have to be agreed upon, as happened in the case of Cian Uijtdebroeks in 2023, but that deal has to be made between the relevant parties, with the compensation often officially coming from the rider.
We don’t know what the “certain issues” are that made Gee attempt to break his contract, or what that contract does or doesn’t allow, but IPT are clearly still keen to hang onto their Canadian star. At this point, however, it seems unlikely that he will ever ride for them again.
It’s messy, and it has the potential to get messier; after Wout van Aert left Vérandas Willems-Crelan in 2018 for Jumbo-Visma, a legal battle ensued that wasn’t settled until 2021. Gee could leave, but would the UCI allow him to register with another team, now or next year?
With mid-contract moves becoming more prevalent, there might be some team managers worrying about the future of key riders, and where this situation leaves them. Long contracts provide security to riders, but also for teams, giving them the ability to plan for coming seasons.
If longer contracts are going to become the norm, and they have become more prevalent, then the only solution to the messy world of cycling transfers is surely a proper system with fees exchanged. This would bring multiple benefits to riders and teams.
Teams would be better financially equipped to deal with losing a rider. They would be more prepared to develop a rider if they knew they could sell them on later in their careers. Transfer fees made public would be better than the current shady-feeling that currently take place, and if a rider can just terminate their contract, what’s the point of them anyway?
As things stand, I don’t know where Gee will be next year. He says he hasn’t spoken to another team yet, and that’s probably true, but an agreement will need to be made to secure his exit from Israel-Premier Tech. Isak, took, might still leave Newcastle in the final week of the football transfer window, but at least his club would recoup something straight away. Again, in the unreformed world of cycling, things are a little bit more confusing.
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