Ten of football's strangest contract clauses: Firmino's anti-Arsenal clause, Prior's sheep testicles deal and Suarez's no-bite
Release clauses, buyback options and sales agreements are standard parts of a modern football contract.
But from time to time some truly baffling stipulations are included in the fine print of agreements handed out by clubs around the world.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain famous He had a clause in his Arsenal contract that meant the Gunners would have to pay his former club Southampton £10,000 every time he played 20 minutes or more.
spanish exit The World revealed in 2021 that now Inter Miami star Lionel Messi had to “integrate into Catalan society and culture” in his last contract with Barcelona by learning the language, but was available on a free transfer if the region became independent from Spain.
The rise of superagents and diverse player demands mean that standard contract negotiations are becoming increasingly complex.
However, it will still take some effort to overcome the inserted clauses to make the following ten agreements fulfilled…
Spencer Prior
Cardiff City's eccentric former owner Sam Hamman was known for the unique clauses he added to his players' contracts.
And nothing more than Prior's signing from Manchester City was conditional on him eating sheep testicles, a delicacy in Lebanon, Hamman's homeland.
He said: “It must be the strangest contract in the history of football. But I will try anything once.”
In fact, Prior ate the dish with a pinch of salt, lemon and some parsley… before it was later revealed that he was served slow-cooked chicken!
11
Stefan Schwarz
The former Arsenal player pledged to sign up for one of the first commercial flights to space when he arrived at Sunderland from Valencia in 1999.
However, the Black Cats were less interested in this idea and inserted a clause into Schwarz's contract that would void his deal if he left the planet.
Sunderland's then managing director John Fickling said: “One of Schwarz's advisers got a place on commercial flights.
“And we were worried that he wanted to take Stefan with him. So we thought it would be better to tie things up now and not at the time of the flight.”
11
Giuseppe Reina
The German thought he had found a winner when he told Arminia Bielefeld to build him a house for each year of his contract when he signed in 1996.
The club accepted his demands, but made sure to take Reina at his word, as he never specified the size or type of property he wanted each season.
Bielefeld ended up building their new striker a house with LEGO for each year of his three-year contract; Not the best way to keep him happy, but fun.
11
Rolf-Christel Guie-Mien
Many footballers look for the best for their families when they sign a new contract with a club, but Guie-Mien went one step further.
The Congolese international commissioned Eintracht Frankfurt to organize cooking classes for his wife as part of his agreement to join them in 1999.
The midfielder insisted his other half's better cooking skills would help him adapt better to German football.
To be fair to Guie-Mien, he spent the rest of his playing career until he retired in 2012 in Germany at six different clubs.
11
Dennis Bergkamp
The Arsenal legend earned the nickname 'Flying Dutchman' during his stay in north London due to his clause that prevented air travel.
Bergkamp first publicly admitted his fear of flying during his debut campaign with the Gunners, and the decision cost him £100,000 in wages.
The Ajax icon opted to travel by train or other means of transport whenever possible and, as a result, missed many European away games.
He explained his fear in his autobiography, revealing that his experience with small planes at Inter Milan was the main reason behind his phobia.
11
Luis Suarez
The mercurial Uruguayan's past behavior caused Barcelona to add a 'no biting' clause when they agreed a deal to sign the striker from Liverpool.
Suárez was already suspended when he arrived at the Camp Nou in 2014 for biting Giorgio Chiellini during the World Cup that summer.
He also bit PSV Eindhoven star Otman Bakkal and Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic. during his time at Ajax and Liverpool respectively.
The former president of Barça, Josep María Bartomeu, denied the existence of a clause at the time, but has since done so. He has been accused of lying about the club's financial situation by his successor Joan Laporta.
11
mario balotelli
The enigmatic Italian also required the inclusion of contractual clauses surrounding his bad behavior, in a deal involving Suárez!
Balotelli was the man Liverpool trusted to replace the Premier League's top scorer in 2014 after AC Milan decided to get rid of him.
But the Reds were worried about Super Mario after stories of him throwing darts at people and almost burning down his house with fireworks.
Liverpool therefore put a good conduct clause in his contract which said he would have to leave the club if he stepped out of line.
11
Roberto Firmino
Liverpool's trifecta ends with the now Saudi Pro League star in a transfer once again set in motion by Suárez.
Reds owner John W. Henry was outraged by Arsenal's infamous £40m + £1 bid to poach Suárez from Anfield in 2013.
And the American billionaire was still smarting from the attempt two years later when Liverpool agreed a deal to sign Firmino from Hoffenheim.
The Al-Ahli forward's first contract with the Merseysiders included a €98m (£82.5m) release clause “if the interested club is not Arsenal”.
11
ronaldinho
The former Ballon d'Or winner was an exception to a standard nightclub clause in his contract as it allowed him to keep partying.
Far from encouraging Ronaldinho not to go clubbing and focus on his football, the Brazilian icon had a different agenda when he left AC Milan in 2011.
The World Cup winner had Flamengo stipulate in his contract that he was allowed to visit the city twice a week without fines or other repercussions.
11
Neil Ruddock
Crystal Palace took a desperate measure to ensure 'Razor' was fit when he arrived at Selhurst Park towards the end of his career.
Former Eagles chairman and talkSPORT presenter Simon Jordan wrote in his autobiography: “Upon approaching West Ham I discovered he was a free transfer, although he had a sizeable salary, which was not the only important thing about him.
“Harry Redknapp, the West Ham manager at the time, told me to put in a strong clause.
“So I decided to impose a 10 percent penalty on the contract we proposed to offer him if he exceeded the recommended weight of 99.8 kg, which, by the way, was still huge.”
11
