More and more clubs are implementing « lofts, » groups of unwanted players at the beginning of each season. The players’ union has had enough.
The Mbappé case has changed everything. Last summer, the PSG star was sent to the lofts, like a mere undesirable, to push him to extend his contract. A situation that has angered the UNFP, the main union for French footballers.
On Tuesday, in Paris, the National Union of Professional Footballers (UNFP) filed a complaint against X, accusing clubs that deliberately isolate certain players in « lofts » of moral harassment and extortion, according to the union’s lawyers as reported by AFP.
According to the complaint reviewed by AFP, these clubs employ a strategy of « brutal isolation and multiple pressures » to accept a contract extension or transfer. The UNFP accuses FIFA of participating in this brutal system, claiming that this « extortion » places the club in a « dominant position. »