I. The FIFA provides for the rules regulating the status of football players around the world through the FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players: These are the main rules:

- Article 2.2 of the Regulations states that ‘a professional is a player who has a written contract with a club and is paid more for his footballing activity than the expenses he effectively incurs’;

- Article 13 provides that ‘a contract between a professional and a club may only be terminated upon expiry of the term of the contract or by mutual agreement’;

- Article 18 sets out that the contract between the professional player and his club is fixed-term contract: ‘the minimum length of a contract shall be from its effective date until the end of the season, while the maximum length of a contract shall be five years. Contracts of any other length shall only be permitted if consistent with national laws. Players under the age of 18 may not sign a professional contract for a term longer than three years’;

- Article 14 states that ‘a contract may be terminated by either party without consequences of any kind (either payment of compensation or imposition of sporting sanctions) where there is just cause’;

- Article 17 lays down the range of sanctions applicable when the contract is terminated without just cause; the player should receive compensation which must be calculated according to the law of the country where it operates and other objective criteria;

‘These criteria shall include, in particular, the remuneration and other benefits due to the player under the existing contract and/or the new contract, the time remaining on the existing contract up to a maximum of five years, the fees and expenses paid or incurred by the former club (amortised over the term of the contract) and whether the contractual breach falls within a protected period'.

II. The regulations provided by set the FIFA involves a series of legal consequences where the football player signs a contract.

 As a matter of fact, professionals playing sign a fixed-term employment contract subject to classical employment laws.

- duration of the contract: fixed-term contract can be renewed with the same employee for 4 years without being considered as a permanent contract  (Reg 8-2 of the Regulations FTE). Depending on the ‘market value’ of the football player, the club will usually offer a contract for a period of 2 to 4 years.

Article 17.3 of the FIFA Regulation sets out a 'protected period' during which neither the club nor the football player can unilaterally (ie without just cause) terminate the contract without risking sporting sanctions (suspension, temporary ban). Such protection period amounts to 2 seasons where the professional footballer is no less than 28 years old and it is 3 seasons below this age of 28 years.

- duties: this is a standard clause - the footballer must play the games when he is required to do so; it is noted that according to article 15 of the FIFA Regulation, where the player plays fewer than 10% of the official matches of the season, he can claim just cause to terminate his contract;

- remuneration: this is a classic wage clause; according to the qualities of the football player, his salary may range from £ 1,300 per week (championship players ie lower leagues players) to more than £ 250,000 per week for the star players of the Premier League.

- bonus: the methods of calculation vary according to the clubs and the players; the bonus may represent 1/3 of the total salary of the football player and it should be based on the overall results of the team and the number of the player’s participations in official matches (injuries ought to be avoided)

- ‘image rights': the player receives a commission on the money paid by the sponsors of the club because of the player’s presence in the club; this might amount to 25% of the financial gains of the players (this obviously applies only to certain stars);

- 'buyout clause' or 'release clause': this is the minimum price of the transfer from one club to another; when the club receives an offer matching its buyout clause, it must leave the player enter into talks with the bid club; every season, it amounts to tens of millions of pounds;

- 'loan fees': where the club lends its player to another club, it is paid a fee for that;

- disciplinary proceedings: these are the classical disciplinary rules of employment law;

- termination of the contract: according to employment laws, where a fixed-term contract is not renewed, that qualifies for a dismissal; the football player may complaint for unfair dismissal to a UK Employment Tribunal; the Tribunal can order the club to pay the amount of compensations which is fair and equitable (Reg 7 (7) (b) of Regulations FTE);

- jurisdiction clause: in certain contracts, the parties may choose to submit their dispute to an arbitral tribunal rather than to a Employment Tribunal; however, that does not exclude the application of English employment law which remains applicable to the contract; for the record note that under Article 23 of EU Regulation 1215/2012 of December 12, 2012 (also approved by Britain), such jurisdiction clause is enforceable where it is entered into after the dispute has arisen.