SERVICES
CAREER MANAGEMENT
Every professional footballer is aware of the key moments in their career, such as signing their first professional contract, transfers and contract extensions.
WSM accompanies its players at every step to achieve the best results in terms of remuneration, contract term and career decisions.
The fact that we remain in constant contact with our athletes means that we work in a healthy relationship based on transparency and mutual trust.
Thanks to our extensive network in Europe, Asia and the Middle East, we are well placed to have a detailed understanding of clubs’ needs so that we never miss the best opportunities for our players.
Our expertise:
· Negotiation and monitoring of players’ contracts
· Managing players’ transfers to Swiss or foreign clubs
· Defining players’ career strategies (choice of country / club and contract term)
LEGAL ASSISTANCE
The WSM Agency team includes a sports lawyer, who monitors all our legal affairs on a daily basis and provides a real-time response to all our players’ questions.
We have also selected a number of specialist law firms, recognised as the best in their respective areas of competence, to provide assistance in more complex matters.
The lawyer associated with WSM Agency works closely with players to provide advice and assistance at every meeting.
Our expertise:
· Contract law
· Employment law
· Image rights
· Player/club disputes
· Defending players’ interests in court
TAXATION
Professional athletes are a very specific group of individuals, who need “tailor-made” tax management based on the following two principles:
· Their professional career only lasts for a limited time
· Particular events may occur during the course of their career, such as injury, a sharp increase or decrease in income, a sudden end to their career or a desire to move abroad.
In response to this, WSM Agency has built close relationships to secure the services of the best advisers in the field.
The aim is to offer players personalised arrangements to reduce their tax burden to a minimum.
The WSM Agency team sits at the centre of its network of partners, providing the link between its asset manager and tax lawyer to implement tax optimisation tools.
Our expertise:
· Income tax optimisation
· Tax arrangements specific to athletes (impatriates tax regime and smoothing mechanism)
· Tax optimisation strategies and schemes
ASSET MANAGEMENT
Professional football careers are unusual in bringing in large sums of money over a limited timescale.
In response to this, WSM Agency offers its players the services of an asset manager, to provide financial solutions appropriate to their income and expenses.
Our aim is also to reassure our clients about their future, so that they can approach the end of their career with complete peace of mind.
As an independent adviser, our asset manager is well placed to offer clients the best products on the market for their specific needs. Their primary selection criterion is their ability to satisfy our players’ needs over the long term.
Our expertise:
· Legal and tax aspects of asset management
· Legal structures
· Tax optimisation
· Property transactions
· Accountancy services
PROPERTY
WSM Agency is aware that footballers often change clubs and have to move house during their careers, and therefore provides assistance on all property-related matters.
We are on hand to help players settle into their new club by helping them to find the home that best meets their needs.
In conjunction with our asset manager, we also specialise in helping our clients complete property transactions in the context of their personal investments.
Our expertise:
· Negotiation and transactions
· Property lettings
· Apartment hunting (for residential and personal investment purposes)
· Property transactions for tax optimisation
SPONSORSHIP & COMMUNICATION
WSM Agency is in constant contact with all influential equipment managers in the world of football and is well equipped to negotiate its players’ sponsorship contracts during their career.
We also work on promoting our players’ image via social media (Facebook, Twitter and Instagram).
We firmly believe that the internet can be used as a lever to make our players’ image more attractive, with the aim of attracting brands (advertising contracts) and clubs (positive media coverage).
We are also committed to protecting our players’ image through our specialist lawyer (trademark registration and creation of image rights companies).
Our expertise:
· Negotiating sponsorship contracts
· Image promotion
· Image protection
ADDITIONAL SERVICES
Top-level football demands an extremely well-developed sense of detail, so it was with this in mind that we decided to expand our team by surrounding ourselves with professionals in several areas.
In order to support our clients throughout the season or during transitional periods (when they are between clubs or on holiday), WSM Agency works in close cooperation with leading trainers, nutritionists and physiotherapists.
In addition, WSM Agency makes life easier for its clients by working with a concierge services provider, available 24/7 to satisfy their every need.
Our expertise:
· Trainers, nutritionists, physiotherapists
· Concierge services
EVENTS
WSM is also attentive to the different marketing and event needs and always seeks efficiency and performance for the best possible result.
This is why it highlights its network for the creation and development of the following events:
· Creation of advertising events.
· Creation of sporting events.
· Individual training camp.
· Club training camp and sports organization.