Premier League clubs are attempting to push through a ban on paying agents to curb the influence of intermediaries in the game.
Teams in the top flight paid a staggering £211million to agents last year as costs continue to spiral out of control.
An investigation by The Times revealed that four out of every five deals in the Premier League involved the same representative being paid by both the player and club.
This process, called 'duel representation' was implemented for 79 per cent of the 541 deals that took place last campaign.
The Times investigation also notes that HMRC is looking at duel-representation and can demand proof of transactions from both clubs and agents.
In some cases there is even 'triple representation', where an agent works for the player, buying club and selling club.
This was the case in the summer of 2016 when Manchester United signed Paul Pogba for £89m and super-agent Mino Raiola represented all three parties, Manchester United, Juventus and the French midfielder. He earned a combined £41m from the transfer.
In June this year, plans to ban payments from clubs to agents were agreed in principle and a meeting between Premier League chairmen on Thursday will iron out the details they want enforced.
They are proposing that all agents working in this country should be required to pass an exam, have a UK bank account, submit financial statements to the FA and accept spread payments from players rather than a large one-off lump sum.
These measures were decided upon following a review of agents by the Premier League and their findings have been passed on to the FA.
One possible obstacle to the passing of the ban is FIFA's stance. The global governing body prefers a cap on fees at 5 per cent of any transaction, rather than a blanket ban.
Agent fees have become massive business and have only increased in recent years.
With the transfer market also inflated year-on-year particularly after Neymar's £198m move from Barcelona to PSG, the agent's fees have inevitably increased.
Liverpool spent £26.8m, more than any other side last year with a total of £257m being splashed out on intermediaries by the top five divisions. This marked an increase of £37m from the previous year, marking it out on the agenda of top clubs as an key issue to resolve.
Other key items on the agenda for Thursday's meeting are the early closure of the transfer window and an update on overseas TV rights for between 2019-2022.
boycott
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About time these money grabbing pigs are banned they are a cancer to the beautiful game.
retirement
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Players should pay the agent fees not clubs.
kamaai
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SCANDALOUS. THE SUPPOSEDLY WORST RUN CLUB IN BRITAIN - THE TANGERINE SEASIDERS - SO HATED BY SAMUELS AND HOLT FOR THEIR ALLEGED LACK OF AMBITION -- PAY AGENTS NOTHING, HAVE THE LOWEST WAGE BILL IN DIVISION ONE, OWN THEIR STADIUM OUTRIGHT, ARE DEBT FREE AND PAY ALL STAFF ON TIME -- WELL SHAME ON THEM
Karenen
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Nothing will happen
Assessment
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these leeches are everything that's wrong with the game nowadays. All the money that's come into the game over the last 20 odd years has been stripped out of the game by greedy agents promising the world to their equally greedy players. The fact is they could have increased the players wages commensurately in line with the game's increased income, whilst also reducing the cost burden on the supporters...supporters who in the majority of cases were there supporting their clubs and the game prior to football becoming so fashionable. All driven by the agents... 10% of £100K or 10% of £1mill??...and the sort of s.cu.m that invaded the working man's game in the stands.
Joshuaon
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What do you want to be when you grow up Son, what about a footballer, No chance Dad, I want to be their agents ! They get paid twice for sitting on their rrsses.
blue999
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The other thing that is WRONG is the stockpiling of players. Chelski and Mancity are buying lots of players then loaning out the players. This is to avoid the budget cap set by the leagues. Young players NEVER get a chance. Why even have a youth/ development squad ? No wonder England are so poor ! kids cant develop with to many players bought. 6 players in every team should be home grown, that wouldnt please the money men.
development
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These agents earn far too much money, and they promote transfers to feather their nest. Brian clough said he would never deal with agents, perhaps others should copy this and the complexity of bonuses, free time etc etc makes the world laugh at footballers
Yuzsuyz
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mino raiola the most coolest agent