# Pulisic's transfer & solidarity payments...



## younothat (Jan 5, 2019)

Christian Pulisic's youth club unlikely to pursue solidarity payment after Chelsea transfer
http://www.espn.com/soccer/soccer-transfers/story/3742138/christian-pulisics-youth-club-unlikely-to-pursue-solidarity-payment-after-chelsea-transfer

"The academy director of PA Classics, the youth club that helped produce U.S. international Christian Pulisic, says he is "90 percent" sure that the club will not pursue a claim for solidarity payments in the wake of the player's transfer from Borussia Dortmund to Chelsea.

On Wednesday, it was announced that Chelsea will pay Dortmund $73.1 million to acquire Pulisic, a record for an American player, and more than triple the $22 million that Bundesliga side Vfl Wolfsburg paid for defender John Brooks in 2017.

FIFA's Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players (RSTP) stipulate that when a player is transferred from one club to another prior to the end of the player's contract, and that transfer involves moving to another country -- a change of association, according to FIFA -- then upwards of five percent of the fee is paid to the youth clubs that developed the player in the form of a "solidarity payment."

But the U.S. Soccer Federation has long forbidden the implementation of RSTP in the U.S. Among the reasons cited are fears that RSTP violates child labor laws or would result in litigation on anti-trust grounds by various stakeholders, including the MLS Players Association, who feel that enforcement of RSTP could restrict the flow of players to foreign clubs. The USSF has also contended that a consent decree contained in the legal case Fraser vs. MLS, one that prevented the payment of transfer fees for out-of-contract players, prohibited it from enforcing RSTP.

Based on the most conservative estimate of Pulisic's tenure with PA Classics, the club would be entitled to at least $548,000. If Pulisic's time were to include the period spent in residency with the U.S. Under-17s, a time where he was still registered as a PA Classics player, that amount could exceed $1 million. But Steve Klein, who serves as the coaching director and academy director of PA Classics, is leaning towards not pushing to receive the money.

"We haven't made a decision yet. I would say 90 percent 'no,' that we don't move forward with anything," said Klein, who in addition to his responsibilities with PA Classics has served as an assistant on various U.S. youth national teams. "I know it goes against some of the conventional wisdom. I know a lot of people would like us to, but there's still a part of me that [feels] Christian made himself. I don't like being on the side that we are due this money because we created Christian Pulisic. That's where my comfort level drops. We were a part of it, but I don't know if I like trying to gain off of his success."


*Alexi Lalas*‏Verified account @AlexiLalas
The recent transfer of @cpulisic_10 again brings up the issue of solidarity payments and training compensation. I asked @MLSPlayersUnion Executive Director Bob Foose to reiterate why the MLSPA continues to oppose these mechanisms. Here's his response:







Disagree with this MLS statement.   We  should have solidarity payments IMO.


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## espola (Jan 5, 2019)

Allow me to make 2 points --

1.  The statement "Christian made himself" pokes an obvious hole in any youth program that claims "development" as a goal. 

2.  The MLSPA statement reads kind of like "f--- you, we got ours already" to me.


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## MWN (Jan 8, 2019)

At least Bob is being honest, "solidarity payments" impacts "pay to play" and vice versa.  So we have a chicken and egg problem in the eyes of the players union and our MLS players are dicks wanting to prevent those that can't afford the pay-to-play to just f' off.


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## outside! (Jan 8, 2019)

MWN said:


> At least Bob is being honest, "solidarity payments" impacts "pay to play" and vice versa.  So we have a chicken and egg problem in the eyes of the players union and our MLS players are dicks wanting to prevent those that can't afford the pay-to-play to just f' off.


Agree somewhat, but one of the advantages of "Pay to Play" is that parents have some voice as opposed to no voice.


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