Behind Every Kick graduates hear from Premier League football agents
Co-owners of New Vision Football Alex Levack and Matthew Kleinman have worked in the football industry representing players like Ben White, Adam Lallana and Micah Richards for over 25 years. This half-term they joined a group of Behind Every Kick programme graduates on Zoom to give us the inside track on what life is really like in their world.
The young people came prepared with some killer questions, and it proved to be an absolutely fascinating conversation.
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We all hear about the transfer deals, but what else do football agents do?
Matthew: Anything and everything for our players off the pitch to make sure they can perform on it is really the answer. Negotiating playing contracts and commercial deals - boot deals with Adidas, Nike or Sketchers - are the bread and butter of what we do as agents. But the whole wrap-around service, looking after the player off the pitch, making sure financially they’re protected and not spending all their money, ensuring their families are well looked after in terms of any kind of investments - we're not financial experts but we direct them to people that are. The demands on footballers today have increased since we started working in the industry. The pressure and money involved at the highest level means they have to be that much better than the other players they’re competing with. Our clients are looking to find every marginal gain they can find to get that edge - nutritional advice, personal coaches, strength and conditioning - anything and everything to improve and perform on the pitch.
Alex: We treat our clients as people first and footballers second. Everyone else in their professional life sees them as footballers, but ultimately, they are still people like everyone else. They’ve got to pay their tax bills, they’ve got to move house, they’ve still got to take their rubbish out! They experience all the pressures we have within our lives, plus the pressure of being an elite talent.
What's the biggest misconception about your profession?
Alex: That stereotype of the football agent who doesn’t speak to their client for a year and then - when a deal comes up - makes loads of money for doing nothing still persists. But we try to do everything with honesty and integrity. We want what is best for the players. We generally take a percentage of their salaries, so whatever we are able to negotiate, we take a percentage. That way, as long as we’re doing a good job of securing the best possible deal for the player, then our percentage increases. So it's a win-win, rather than how some agents operate where they go in and say, ‘What’s my commission?’ before they've even negotiated the player's contract.
Matthew: The other misconception is that all agents are earning millions from these deals - especially when people see the transfer fees being bandied about. It’s rarely the case that agents get a percentage of the transfer fee. We have a rep agreement that lasts for two years at a time, so we have to constantly deliver for our clients to keep them with us. It’s a cut-throat industry, and agents are trying to poach each other's client base. That means we need to deliver what we promise.
How do you and your clients cope with the pressure of working in football?
Alex: We have confidence in what we do. It is our ability to deliver that keeps our clients with us. And in terms of the players, we have a head of welfare - Sue, who has been married to a footballer for years and has a real 360° view of the game. She is there for our players to talk to at any time about anything - social media, mental health, whatever they need. The players value that, as although there will be psychologists at their club, it’s good to have someone independent who they can open up to without worrying about whether what they say will affect their place in the team. It’s an unbelievable resource for the players.
Matthew: We deal with the pressure by having faith in our expertise and experience. We believe in ourselves and each other. We’ve been in business together for over 17 years. Some of our individual strengths offset each other's weaknesses. Our mindset is to be as confident in a fast-moving and changing industry - where it’s not always easy to stay positive - as we can. We’ve had a lot of wins, and we’ve had a lot of losses. We’ve won some great clients, and we’ve lost some. But we know that we are good at what we do and keep moving forward.
Alex: At the time you are doing a deal, it can be really intense. But when you get it over the line, it feels amazing. You’ve put in all that effort - and because we care about seeing the players get the result they want - it's so satisfying.
What motivates you to keep working as a football agent?
Matthew: I love seeing young people fulfil their potential and it's so rewarding to be part of that process. It also aligns with me fulfilling my own potential. If I can help someone get to where they want to go that’s really intrinsically rewarding - much more than the financial side of it. I think it’s so important that when you enter into a profession it’s something you love doing. But I don’t think you can just say 'I’m going to blindly follow my passion' as we’ve all got to make a living. It’s nice to think I’ll just make money from what I’m passionate about but the reality can be different. Alex and I are very fortunate to be working in an industry we both love, that’s exciting and for the most part good fun but it’s not without its challenges that’s for sure.
Alex: To watch somebody progress to achieve their goals and potential is something special. Money is the byproduct of what we do rather than the main driver.
Matthew: If you were to ask us both what has been the highlight of our careers it absolutely won’t be doing a certain deal. It will be watching an individual make their debut for their club or country, being there with their family when that happens. The excitement and fun that comes from sharing those experiences with players and their families.
Alex: For me, Micah Richards making his England debut against Holland stands out. I was there with his father and I think Micah was 18 or thereabouts and the youngest ever England defender. He was up against Arjen Robben. Another example would be Ben White making his international debut. Knowing I’d played a part in getting them to that moment is an incredible feeling.
Matthew: Watching Adam Lallana debuting for England U20s at Bournemouth will always stick with me. He’s a Bournemouth boy and I was there with all his family. Only a couple of years before that he’d had some health challenges that had slowed his development but he overcame those and has gone on to have a magnificent career. That was a great moment for me personally.
Could you talk us through your career journey?
Matthew: Like most things in life, you’ve got to be a little bit lucky to get the break and the opportunity, but you’ve got to be good to stick around. It’s all very well getting that first chance but then you’ve got to work hard to grow and stay in that job to fulfil your potential.
I was at school in London, but I wasn’t very academic. It was a good school - lots of bright students - and I was bottom of the year for sure. I went to college and did a leisure studies BTEC, I really enjoyed the course and did well. I never thought I would but I ended up going to University in Birmingham and got my degree. I then got this amazing opportunity when I came back to London to work for a lawyer who was representing South African footballers at the time. It was a small organisation and he asked me to go and do some work experience for him. The only reason he did that was because I used to play football with him on a Saturday. He told me the reason he employed me was because he felt people perform in the workplace like they play their sport. If you saw me play football I was technically awful but I ran around a lot and gave everything - so he took me on board off the back of that. That was such a good lesson that it’s not necessarily what you know but who you know and how much you put yourself out there. The more you can build your network and get a feel for the things you might want to go into the better. I’ve been able to stay in the industry ever since.
Alex: I went to college and did a sports science diploma. At that time I had the opportunity to go to America on a football scholarship but I'd always wanted to be a stockbroker. This was before you could send emails so I literally wrote 300 or maybe even 400 letters to stockbrokers in London asking for an opportunity. That led to me getting a job at Merrill Lynch, a big investment company. When I got there I realised the reality of the work was nothing like the perception I'd had. I stuck it out for three years while I kept playing football on the weekends. It transpired that the manager of the team I was playing for was friends with a football agent. I had all this useless knowledge in my head about players' stats and what boots they wore. I said to him, 'I’d love to come and work in your industry' because I wasn’t enjoying being a broker. He didn’t say yes initially but I was persistent and eventually, he said, 'Come and meet my brother and if he likes you maybe we can help you get a start'. Thankfully that led to a job with them and things just grew and grew from there.
Matt and I were on a similar journey. Whereas many football agents might be ex-players or the family members of a player, we started from ground zero. Basically, we’ve served an apprenticeship where we’ve seen every facet of the industry and had to work and work and work. And although we had some wins along the way it probably took us 17 years or so to reach the level we wanted to. That takes resilience and comes with plenty of rejections all of which have made us better people. Believe me, there have been times when I’ve thought 'sod this, let’s walk away' but then you keep going and have that faith in yourself and thankfully that belief has paid off.
How did you go about building your network when you were starting out?
Matthew: It’s a fallacy to think as a young person 'I haven’t got anything to offer' or that I need to have something to offer in exchange to make contact with people. If you go to someone and ask them for help people generally will help you - whether it’s an ego thing or just their disposition, people want to help. Don’t be shy to ask, put yourself out there. We all face rejection and it’s not very nice at the time when you’re going through it. But the test of character is the more rejection you can take and keep bouncing back from eventually you’ll reach a point where, not only are you comfortable with it, but you'll also start seeing some success. I know you might think it's easy for me to say this now in my mid-40s when I've had success but I went through these things in my 20s, believe me. I wasn’t confident then but I’ve reached a place where I don’t care what other people think of me - I only care what the people I care about think of me! It’s hard to get to that point but with work, time and experience you will.
Alex: Don’t be afraid to talk to people. If you’re kind to people and show an interest in them. You never know who is next to you and what can come from a conversation. I’m a big believer in the universe and sometimes the universe has put you somewhere for a reason to connect with somebody. You never know where that might take you.
How did you navigate the uncertainty of not knowing what’s next when trying to build your career?
Alex: It’s useful to map it out. When you want to work in elite environments - you’re obviously not going to go from just qualifying to working straight with elite talent. Do as much research as you can. Find out who the top people in that field are. Work it backwards from there. Can you get some work experience? Can you go to youth games or U21 matches which are more accessible than first-team fixtures and even try and grab a word with people as they are walking out onto the pitch. That might seem a little bit random but you’ve got to put yourself out there. If you take one or two nuggets or ideas from the conversations you manage to generate with people - if you do that five or six times then you’ve really broadened your horizons.
Matthew: You might not have the qualifications yet but you’ve already got the skills you need to succeed in the industry you want to work in. Leverage your skills and your strengths - which is your personality. Go and reach out to people in your chosen field, be confident. As long as you’re prepared to give your time a lot of people will give back. Target who you want to work for and reach out to them. Tell them about your course, tell them you want to come and meet with them, ask them for a conversation and that you’re prepared to work for nothing for a period of time and see where that takes you.
How do you go about asking for work experience?
Alex: When you run a business, you want people who are outgoing and who show enthusiasm to go above and beyond.
Matthew: I think it’s pretty simple. It’s about being likeable. If someone likes you and sees that spark in you, then they’ll be happy to give you their time. We get a lot of requests for conversations from people wanting to work in our industry, so more often than not, my first offer is to speak to people on the phone as it’s hard to give everybody the time they want, need, and probably deserve. Our days are so busy, but Alex and I don’t forget where we came from or that we were once in the same position as you guys and needed a break and an opportunity. We’re very aware of that, so I’m always happy to try and help someone who reaches out. I can’t promise to deliver anything but I’ll always try and help put them on the right track.
How do you divide your time between your clients?
Alex: Some are definitely more demanding than others! It varies on the individual personality of the player. We offer a plethora of services, some use every service and want you to help with every element of their lives, whereas others just want to hear from you periodically or when there’s a deal to be done. We give the amount of time the client needs regardless of whether they’re in the National League or the Premier League, it’s led by how much they feel they need us. Of course the higher up the game you go and the more money you’re earning as a player the more demands on you there are. Also, there’s the natural relationship element. Some clients you really connect with and them with you. It becomes a deep bond. Whereas with others, you have real respect for each other but it remains primarily an agent-client relationship.
Matthew: That’s something we’ve been very conscious of at our agency New Vision. So that we can walk our talk we don’t have that many clients. Some agencies take on hundreds of players and have a very different relationship with them than we do with ours. We win quite a bit of business because we have that personal touch. We can afford the time to do so because the numbers add up for us whereas they might not for a bigger agency where it’s purely transactional. But everyone is different. I’ve got one client who is nearly 40 and he doesn’t need me very much, whereas for a young player, it’s all new.
Alex: Ultimately we want players to have autonomy over their own lives so that once they finish playing football they are not phased by what comes next.
What would you change if you could start your journey to becoming a football agent again?
Alex: I don’t think I’d change much. We’ve made a lot of mistakes over our time working in the industry - we really have - but what we’ve come to realise is that you learn so much in the tough times and from your mistakes, more than you do from successes. So I personally wouldn’t change anything. Maybe I’d choose a different business partner! [Laughs]
Matthew: Yeah, me too!
Seriously though It’s maybe a bit lame to echo what Alex says but I completely agree and wouldn’t change anything. You learn so much more through times of adversity than through times of success.
Alex: We have conducted ourselves with morals, ethics and values. And I think if you can be consistent with those - even when making mistakes - I don’t think you go too far wrong. Stick to your values and work hard and you’ll give yourself a much better chance of success.
Matthew: I totally agree. It’s got to be genuine, you have to have integrity. It can’t come from a place where you are positioning yourself because you think it’s what people want to hear.
Alex: You can’t manufacture it. You can’t pretend to be a good person with good intentions. Ultimately integrity is about doing what you said you were going to do. So never overpromise. It’s better to underpromise and over-deliver. That’s a bit of a mantra to take with you.
Can football continue to keep growing? With more and more money going on transfer fees and wages - is it sustainable?
Alex: Another tough question! You'd think there has to be a breaking point eventually. Where I live in Essex there are fans of the big London clubs who are becoming a bit disillusioned and maybe can't afford to go to games. But on the other hand, money is coming into English football from all over the world because it's now a global entertainment industry and I don't see that changing. As long as it continues, clubs will keep pushing to compete for the best players. We've been through an economic crash and through Covid and yet somehow football has found a way not only to survive but to keep on growing.
Matthew: The game is pretty robust and also when you're working in it you realise it's like no other industry. It attracts incredibly successful people from other walks of life who suddenly start working from a place of emotion. They almost seem to forget the sound financial principles that brought them success in their other businesses. It's bonkers but I don't see it changing. I think it's going to keep growing and growing.
Can you explain the process of negotiating players' contracts?
Matthew: It’s not one size fits all but at the same time it’s also not the rocket science some people in the industry lead you to believe it is. For the most part, there are pretty standard clauses that go into every contract - the duration, and the basic wage which might change based on their performance or the number of games they play. It’s rare to have a contract that has a clause that is so out there that it makes it almost unique. The only one I can think of is an Arsenal player from the 1990s who apparently always wanted to travel to space. I believe Arsenal inserted a clause prohibiting him from doing that while he played for them. Our job is really about problem-solving, and in any negotiation you want all the parties to walk away feeling they’ve won and that no one feels that the other side has got one over on them. If you're trying to 'win' at the other party's expense it's just about ego, whereas we are about building long-term sustainable relationships with clubs and players. Of course, there will be fallings out at times but really you’re trying to find a win-win for everybody.
Do you think the women’s game is a good place to look for opportunities?
Matthew: You only have to look at how the game has exploded since the Lionesses won the Euros - we are seeing huge increases in wages and transfer fees, in attendance figures. Lots of the games are being played in the biggest stadiums which highlights where the women’s game is going. So at this moment in time if you’re looking to get into football there’s undoubtedly a real opportunity in the women’s game. The men’s game is very much a closed shop that’s so difficult to infiltrate. Even people who have worked in it for years, if they come out of a job find it hard to get their next one. Whereas speaking to people I know working on the women’s side I get the sense it’s a more welcoming environment so it could be a great place to target if you’re looking to get started.
Last question. If you could take yourself back, what advice would successful football agent Matthew Kleinman give to his 17-year-old self?
Matthew: The best thing I ever did in my career pathway had nothing to do with my career. When I was about 21 I was introduced to the idea of working on yourself. The earlier you can start doing that the better. Work on your mindset, work on making yourself as resilient and bulletproof as possible. Life will throw up all kinds of challenges - not just at work but across your whole life including your relationships with friends and family. The more you’re able to keep yourself motivated and positive, you’ll be amazed at what can happen. I’ve found when you stay positive and focused, positive things come to you. Set yourself goals and targets - write them down on paper don’t just leave them floating in your head. When you do that it’s incredible what happens. There’s a saying I really like which is ‘people overestimate what they can achieve in a year but underestimate what they can achieve in a decade’, that is so true. We’re all very motivated when we first get an idea in our heads but that can drop off pretty quickly. I’ve found that working on myself and broadening my horizons by reading a lot - quality books about leadership and performance - is almost more important than how much you work on your actual career.
A massive thanks to Alex and Matthew for being so generous with their time and for being so open with their answers. And a huge thanks to the young people for taking time out of their school holiday to be with us.