Stefan de Vrij was in court on Friday against his former business agency Sports Entertainment Group (SEG). The thirty-year-old defender is demanding ten million euros from his ex-advocates for alleged double play in his transfer to Internazionale. SEG collected 7.5 million euros in commission, according to De Vrij without his knowledge.
De Vrij appeared in Amsterdam on Friday to attend the hearing with his lawyer. The the Dutch international was welcomed informally by the judge. “Mr. De Vrij, thank you for coming and that the hearing can take place. Next time win against Liverpool!”, she referred to the defeat of De Vrij on Wednesday with Inter against the English (0-2) in the Champions League. “It is still possible, we believe in it,” the defender responded to the judge.
† Stefan de Vrij receives an urgent request from the judge in his million-dollar claim against his former advocates: “Liverpool win next time…”
— ESPN NL (@ESPNnl) February 18, 2022
The case revolves around the switch that De Vrij made in 2018 from Lazio to Inter. In May last year wrote Follow the Money although De Vrij was not fully informed by SEG upon his transfer. An investigation by the journalistic platform showed that De Vrij was under the impression that the brokerage firm represented him in the negotiations, but that in reality the firm only acted on behalf of Inter. The club paid 7.5 million euros in commission to SEG, without De Vrij’s knowledge. The disagreement led to De Vrij breaking with SEG and is now being assisted by Mino Raiola, who is not a party to the lawsuit.
De Vrij believes that SEG has acted ‘behind its back’, but the bureau showed at the hearing on Friday that it was not aware of any harm. SEG invokes the fact that there was no agreement with De Vrij stating that the office only represented the player: “Not in writing, not orally and not tacitly.” According to SEG, the defender was indeed informed that the office would receive a hefty commission for the work as an intermediary. During the session, it turned out that thanks to his top transfer, De Vrij became the highest paid defender in Italy. He nets 25 million euros (gross 37.5 million euros) at Inter in five seasons. That is five times his salary at Inter.
According to SEG, De Vrij has received ‘an exceptionally high’ salary thanks to the office. “Inter could not pay more than 37.5 million euros gross,” said Kees Vos, shareholder of SEG, quoted by The Telegraph† “Otherwise it wouldn’t fit into Inter’s salary house. And for all the work it wouldn’t be credible if SEG were to act entirely without pay in this case. Yes, SEG made money. It’s a commercial company, not a charity. There has been invested for years to eventually bring about a transaction. If a deal were to be concluded, a commission would be required. Both parties, including De Vrij, were aware of this.”
“Unbelievable”, De Vrij’s lawyer called this defence. “No player at this level conducts negotiations without an agent. Look, Madam Judge, the letter to the club clearly states ‘my client’… Doesn’t that indicate that SEG acted on behalf of De Vrij?” The lawyer’s commitment: in any case compensation for lost salary, which amounts to 2 million per year for five years.The court will rule on April 6.