The agency that represents Erik ten Hag was ordered to pay £4million in damages to their former client Stefan de Vrij.
Sports Entertainment Group oversaw De Vrij’s transfer from Lazio to his current club, Inter Milan, in July 2018. The Netherlands international moved on a free transfer and signed a five-year contract with Inter.
De Vrij believed that SEG were only acting on his behalf in negotiations, but a court heard that the agency were in fact working for Inter as well. He only found out last year that his agency had earned a commission of £6.22m (€7.5m) and an additional fee of £1.66m (€2m) for working on the move.
Dual representation is not illegal and is in fact commonplace in football, but De Vrij won the case because a Dutch court ruled that SEG had not been transparent in telling its client of their multiple roles in the deal. Earlier this month they were ordered to pay the 30-year-old around £4m (€4.75m) in damages.
"The court has established that De Vrij has not been harmed financially by us and has nevertheless ruled that we must share the committee,” SEG said in a statement. “We regret that the court has not paid attention to crucial statements substantiated by us in its judgement and we are considering an appeal.”
"I am very happy that justice has been done," De Vrij said. "This is a big victory for me personally. In addition, it was also a matter of principle with a message to other players: make sure you always maintain control over your career and always be assisted by independent lawyers who only work for you."
SEG represents many of the biggest-name players from the Netherlands, including Ajax defender Daley Blind, Atalanta midfielder Marten de Roon and PSV winger Cody Gakpo. The Amsterdam-based agency also represents Ajax manager Ten Hag, who is poised to leave the Netherlands for Old Trafford this summer.
The Mirror understands that Ten Hag has a verbal agreement with United to sign a four-year contract. He will replace interim manager Ralf Rangnick. Having been stung in court recently, SEG will be pleased with the high-profile move for their client.
As The Mirror have reported , United will have to pay Ajax around £1.68m (€2m) in compensation due to the fact that Ten Hag still has one year left on his contract with the Dutch giants. The 52-year-old is currently considering who he wants on his staff at Old Trafford once the move is confirmed.
He won’t move to United on the back of securing a third league and cup double with Ajax, however, after suffering defeat in the KNVB Cup final . Ajax went down 2-1 against PSV on Sunday, despite taking the lead and having more than enough chances to find an equaliser.
