Third Party Ownership for Dummies – The invisible hand behind some of football’s biggest transfers

The recent transfer of Radamel Falcao from Atletico Madrid to AS Monaco caused quite a stir; many were shocked to see one of the top strikers in world football move to a newly-promoted French side when the likes of Real Madrid and Manchester United held strong interests. What was not addressed so clearly was how much of an impact the third-party owners, who hold a large stake in the Colombian’s rights, had in the move. Falcao came in for plenty of criticism and was accused of moving solely for the money but it may came a surprise to many that he had little to no say in the decision due to the nature of third-party ownerships (TPOs).