Aclean-up of soccer's murky transfer system and an end to the "hoarding" that makes it possible for a top club to have dozens of players out on loan are among the items on Gianni Infantino's to-do list, the FIFA president told Reuters in an interview.
The man entrusted with the task of cleaning up football's world governing body after a slew of corruption scandals suggested that publishing payments to agents could be one way of creating more transparency.
"Whether it's true or not, the perception often is that there is something strange happening with these transfers," the 46-year-old Swiss-Italian lawyer said.
"It is important if you move a few billion dollars in one or two months, you must make sure that every happens in a clean way."
The transfer market moves billions of dollars every year although it is often unclear how this is split between clubs, players, clubs and the agents who negotiate on their behalf.
FIFA is responsible for regulating transfers between clubs in different countries under rules based on a 2001 agreement with the European Commission. "After 15 years it is time to seriously revise it and bring it a little more transparency and a little more clarity," Infantino said.
The world players' union FIFPro last year launched a complaint with the European Commission, alleging that the system infringes European competition law because only a small number of clubs from the biggest leagues can afford the astronomical fees for top players.
Hoarding Players
Meanwhile, Europe's smaller leagues complain that big clubs cream off their players at a very young age, only to immediately send them on loan elsewhere.English side Chelsea currently have 38 players on loan to other clubs, according to their website.
"I believe it is not right but it is permitted," said Infantino, who did not himself refer to the Premier League club.
"It doesn't feel right, for a club to just hoard the best young players and then to park them left and right, it's not good for the development of the player, it's not good for the club itself."
Capping squad sizes could alleviate the problem, he said. "I fully share that view, we have to work on squad size limits."
While Infantino did not name names, examples are not hard to find. One English player, Benik Afobe, signed a professional contract with Arsenal in 2010, but was then loaned out to six different clubs over five years before being sold to Wolverhampton Wanderers in 2015. He is now with Bournemouth.
Apart from Chelsea, other top teams with long lists of players on loan include Manchester City and Italian sides AC Milan, Inter Milan, Juventus and Atalanta.
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