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Football (Soccer) vocabulary · Transfers & Contracts

Release clause

Meaning in football (soccer), with examples

/rɪˈliːs klɔːz/nounCommon term

In football (soccer), release clause means: A clause in a player's contract that sets a fee; if another club pays it, the player's club must let them leave or start talks.

In Turkish: serbest kalma bedeli, serbest kalma maddesi

How it is used

A club triggers, activates or pays a release clause. In Spain every professional contract must include one, often called a buyout clause. Reporters write that a player "has a release clause of €50 million".

Example sentences

  1. His release clause is €40 million, and two clubs are ready to pay it.

  2. We'd rather sell him now than lose him through his release clause next summer.

Common collocations

  • trigger a release clause
  • pay the release clause
  • release clause of
  • buyout clause
  • transfer feeThe amount of money a buying club pays a selling club to take a player who is still under contract there.
  • agentA licensed person who represents a player or coach in contract and transfer talks and earns a fee or commission from the deal.
  • free agentA player whose contract has ended or been cancelled, so they can join any club without a transfer fee.
  • transferThe move of a player from one club to another, usually with a fee paid to the selling club and a new contract for the player.

More terms: Transfers & Contracts

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