A Dutch court has ordered the former agents of Inter Milan’s Stefan de Vrij to pay the defender more than €5million (£4.2m, $5.4m) in compensation after its unsuccessful appeal against a previous ruling regarding the commission it earned during his 2018 move to the Serie A club.
The Amsterdam Court of Appeal ruled that sports agency SEG did indeed mediate for both Inter and De Vrij, and should have been transparent about the mutual agreements. SEG was obligated to disclose its own financial stake in the agreement between De Vrij and Inter, and the court found that it breached this obligation to inform.
It was established by the court that, as a result, De Vrij suffered a loss in income, with the estimated damages exceeding €5.2m (£4.45m, $5.6m). Initially, the court had awarded the player €4.75m (£4.07m, $5.16m).
SEG was founded in 2000 by Kees Vos and Alex Kroes.
Vos is one of football’s highest profile agents and represents Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag, alongside United striker Rasmus Hojlund and Cody Gakpo of Liverpool. Spanish football agent Pere Guardiola, brother of Manchester City boss Pep, is a shareholder in SEG.
Kroes, meanwhile, had recently begun his new role as chief executive officer (CEO) of Ajax, but was suspended on April 2 after he “likely engaged in insider trading” prior to his appointment in August 2023.
A statement said that Kroes has been suspended from his role “with immediate effect and (the club) intends to terminate the collaboration permanently”.
Ajax stated that the decision was made based on external legal counsel, prompted by the revelation that the 49-year-old had acquired more than 17,000 shares in the club before assuming the position on August 2, 2023.
Kroes said in a statement that “I bought every Ajax share myself” and added that their supervisory board were “already aware” of his share package and that he provided “full disclosure” about all relevant assets, including his 42,500 shares in the club. He said he had “not yet agreed” his move to Ajax at that time, but admitted to having a “good feeling” about his appointment.
The De Vrij case: A background
De Vrij’s legal case began in May 2021. He claimed SEG withheld information from him — namely, that the agency was also representing Inter in the contract negotiations — therefore making itself money from the deal, which he argues was potential earnings he missed out on as he felt misrepresented.
His argument essentially was that his own agent was actively acting against him, meaning he received a lower salary than he would have and no signing-on fee, whereas SEG maintained it was a good deal.
SEG arranged with Inter a €9.5m commission for its services and a sell-on fee of 7.5 per cent should De Vrij later be sold.
In April 2022, an Amsterdam court ruled that De Vrij had not been made aware of the full scale of the €9.5m commission earned by SEG in negotiating his contract with Inter, and awarded the footballer half of that sum (€4.75m) in damages.
SEG then appealed, insisting it was only acting for Inter and that De Vrij was aware of this.
De Vrij’s relationship with SEG broke down after his 2018 move to Inter, for whom he has played 230 times.
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Key questions about the case and why it matters for football
Carlos Hurtado, sports lawyer at Baker McKenzie Madrid, explains
What difference does De Vrij signing an employment contract make?
The fact De Vrij signed an employment contract with Inter is pivotal to the outcome of the case, particularly because, as per the ruling, the agreement clearly stated SEG was representing only the club in the deal and not the player.
In this case, the ruling found SEG not only failed in its duty of care towards the player but also neglected its duty to adequately inform…
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