Stefan de Vrij has responded for the first time to the legal battle he fought with his former agent Sports Entertainment Group (SEG), which, according to the 32-year-old defender, earned 9.5 million euros behind his back in 2018 from his transfer to Inter.

The court in Amsterdam decided on appeal last month that SEG De Vrij must pay more than 5.2 million euros in damages. That compensation is higher than the court awarded (4.75 million euros) to the Oranje international.

The conflict between De Vrij and SEG goes back to 2018, when the Lazio defender switched to Inter. SEG mediated the transfer. According to the defender, SEG did not provide him with any information about the commission that the agency would receive from Inter for this purpose, while the agent agency was obliged to do so. SEG claimed that it did not assist De Vrij, but Inter, in the transfer.

The court ruled that a mediation agreement 'as referred to in the law' had indeed arisen between SEG and De Vrij. The real estate agency was therefore obliged to inform the 62-time international of the Dutch national team about 'its own financial interests': a provision of 9.5 million euros. SEG has violated that obligation to provide notice, the court found a month and a half ago. The court therefore considers it proven that De Vrij enjoyed a lower income.

The ball started rolling when Romelu Lukaku asked De Vrij in 2019 whether his Dutch teammate was sure that his agents had actually represented him during his transfer from Lazio to Internazionale. “I said: 'Yes, of course'', says De Vrij in conversation with it Algemeen Dagblad. “They have been my agents since I was 16. Lukaku shrugged his shoulders and said: 'But are you sure they represented you? You don't have a written agreement with them, do you? Find that out.”

Lukaku's suspicions turned out to be correct. During the transfer from De Vrij to Internazionale, SEG had not sat at the table on behalf of the player, but on behalf of Inter. After the first draft contract, SEG changed the player's service to the club. De Vrij reacted in shock. “There had been no transparency whatsoever. Not about the amount and not that SEG assisted the club and not me with the transfer. Ultimately, I was not represented by anyone.”

A legal battle followed, after which the court ruled in favor of De Vrij. The court in Amsterdam subsequently also ruled on appeal that agreements had been made by SEG with Inter behind the player's back, allowing the agency to collect a commission of 9.5 million euros for the transfer-free transfer.

Reason for filing a lawsuit

“I never said that SEG could not make money from the deal. I brought this case because a player must decide what part of the pie to give away. And not the officers,” De Vrij indicates. “There was no transparency, everything happened behind my back. That has been the basis of my procedure.'”

De Vrij confirms that over the years he developed friendly relations with SEG employees, including director Kees Vos. “I lost sight of the business side, I didn't ask questions so as not to appear suspicious. That was naive.”

De Vrij says that he had his reservations afterwards. For example, the defender did not actually want to leave Lazio on a free transfer, but with a limited transfer fee. “According to SEG, that proposal was rejected by Lazio. I then called the director of Lazio and he said: 'SEG is lying to you Stefan, they don't want you to sign at all.' I started to have doubts and asked SEG again. “Stefan, how long have we known you, we would never lie,” I was told.”

Alex Kroes

The new Ajax director Alex Kroes is co-owner of SEG, where he still worked in 2018. Kroes himself did the first negotiations with Inter. He signed a written statement last year, when he had already been presented by Ajax, that he had heard that De Vrij could not have earned 'a euro' more at Inter.

“Kroes's story is not correct,” says De Vrij. “I extended my contract with Inter and things have definitely improved. And then I was already five years older than when I signed my first contract in Milan and not even an undisputed starting player. In 2018 my negotiating position was simply much better than last summer.”

De Vrij's full interview about the legal battle with SEG can be read on the Algemeen Dagblad website.

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