In a hidden corner of a hotel bar in central Amsterdam, Emmanuel, Mitchell and Ward are keen to talk about everything they’ve been up to.
They are tucked away, easily missed within the hustle and bustle of their surroundings on a Saturday night in the big city.
In many ways, that is similar to their everyday life, carried out at 100mph and largely in the background, navigating the demanding, unique and lucrative corridors of professional football.
Their business, Amslux, was the brainchild of Emmanuel, 25, who saw a luxury concierge on Instagram and was instantly enamoured.
“I just thought, ‘I could do the same’,” he explains. “He was doing it for everyone that would pay it, and I thought we needed to keep it with specific people, so we focused on footballers.”
Emmanuel teamed up with two friends, Mitchell, 21 and Ward, 24, and it was Bilal Başaçıkoğlu, then at Feyenoord, who kicked things off. The trio sourced and gifted him a rare pair of shoes and, such is the small world of football dressing rooms, word soon got around that they could deliver.
“We started with Bilal, gifting him a shoe that was difficult to get,” Emmanuel says. “We met him in Amsterdam, we sat, had a few drinks, talked, he gave us a few tips and we had a picture with the shoe.
“He was playing at Feyenoord, then all the guys were following us, asking us things and from that time it just started rolling.”
“When we delivered Bilal the shoe, that was the first picture of ourselves,” Mitchell adds. “People basically didn’t know who was behind Amslux. Once they knew we were the faces behind, it became more personal.”
Whilst a pair of shoes was their way in, the trio always wanted to branch out and extend to all areas of lifestyle management. On their Instagram, they posted everything from holiday destinations to cars to ideas for proposals - the sort of things they believed they could offer.
“We weren’t doing it, we were just posting it because we wanted to be doing those sorts of things,” Emmanuel recalls.
“Then a player asked us if we could arrange his marriage proposal in South Africa. To be honest, we thought, ‘what the f***!’”
Despite their initial nerves at the biggest job they had been given, the proposal ran smoothly and was another huge milestone.
“It was really a challenge, but it worked out,” Mitchell says. “From there, it just started rolling and going more into the lifestyle managing we wanted it to be.”
Nowadays, Amslux handle everything from personal shopping and styling to real estate and relocation. If a player wants to plan an event, like a birthday party of wedding, or wants tickets that are hard to come by for an in-demand event elsewhere, they can call Amslux. Whatever the request, they will almost always find a way to fulfil it.
Just like when one footballer asked for an extremely rare watch nobody was able to get their hands on - for a price well below the standard market value.
Emmanuel says: “Normally they sell it for like €140,000 (£120k) and his budget was only €125,000 (£105k) and he wanted it in a week.
“We went all the way to Turin, Italy to get the watch from someone we didn’t even know. We transferred the money before we met them as well, so it was a real risk.”
It was a risk which paid off when the player thanked them with an invite to a swanky night out, one of the many moments they get to brush shoulders with young stars and experience how the other half live.
“The player we got the watch for, we went out with him and for me, personally, that was one of the most insane experiences,” Mitchell says. “The amount that had been spent was just insane, the things that were going on, like 30 expensive bottles that regular people couldn’t even buy one of them.
“He wanted to say thank you to us for arranging the watch, so it was worth the risk in the end!”
The trio all grew up as football-mad fans in Amsterdam but have now successfully navigated their way behind the curtain and into the exclusive world of those they once idolised.
“It is different than what we’re used to,” Ward admits of the new world they find themselves in. “They spend a lot of money, just buying things every day. Especially clothes - you see with some brands, so much money is going out of their pockets, but after a while, you get used to it.
“At the beginning it was strange, it was a different world, but after a while, you get used to it.”
As the season draws to a close, the phone barely stops ringing as Amslux organise last-minute holidays and other activities for players during their few weeks off.
Last week, they met up with Real Madrid star Reinier Jesus for a delivery. They have done deals with the likes of Juventus ace Weston McKinnie, former Liverpool man Georginio Wijnaldum and include Ryan Gravenberch and Jurrien Timber amongst their list of clients at Ajax.
Asked why they are entrusted by such players, Emmanuel confidents explains: “Three things - they don’t have the time, they don’t have the knowledge, and they have the confidence that if they contact us, we will arrange it.
“We try to have a personal bond with every customer. The relationship is really important.”
Wisely, they are looking to future stars to build their business and have big plans for the future.
Mitchell adds: “The clients we focus on most is young talent, people aged 18-25 just because we want to build a future with them.”
With that in mind, they name the likes of Erling Haaland, Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Jr as dream clients. But those they are working with already aren’t bad - and the list is growing all the time as a result of their wide-ranging services.
