12 May 2003(Mon)

Did Cafu ever intend to join the Yokohama F Marinos?

Or did his agent simply use the Japanese club as a bargaining tool?

The chances of the veteran Brazilian moving to Japan in July now seem remote, after events in Italy in recent weeks.

Cafu, who has played in the last three World Cup finals for his country, was supposed to arrive in Yokohama in early July once his contract with AS Roma expired on June 30.

Marinos announced the deal, and a two and a half year contract worth around $4 million to the player (and his agent), back in January.

A few weeks later there were rumours from Italy that Cafu had, in fact, not made up his mind about what he was doing next.

I asked Takeshi Okada about this following a Nabisco Cup group game against FC Tokyo at Komazawa in March, and he said he had also heard the rumours from his own front office that Cafu might not be coming.

Okada was under the impression that Cafu had signed a pre-contract agreement, declaring his intent to sign a full contract, but added that he had not seen the documents.

Then there were reports from Italy that Cafu was negotiating with AC Milan, and that he may even stay with Roma for another year or two.

After all, he is a free agent after June 30, and can command a massive signing bonus because there would be no transfer fee involved for the buying club.

Three weeks ago I received a call from a contact who said that Cafu's agent had already contacted Yokohama and told the club his client would not be moving to Japan. Apparently, the agent said Cafu was concerned about catching SARS, so did not want to travel to Asia.

The Marinos are still hoping Cafu will join the club, insisting he has signed and returned by fax a legally binding contract.

But players, and their agents, have been known to sign more than one pre-contract agreement. This means they can keep their options open right until the end.

Agents are becoming more and more powerful in the game, some would say almost untouchable, and the laws tend to favour the rights of the individual rather than the club following the Bosman Ruling which changed the transfer scene dramatically.

I hope that the intentions of Cafu and his agent were genuine when they negotiated with the J.League club.

Did the Marinos announce the deal too early?

Or did Cafu's agent strike a preliminary deal and then use this figure when other clubs came in?

Either way, it serves as a lesson for other Japanese clubs to follow.

ends