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Brabners Chaffe Street advises on Ronaldo`s world record breaking £80m transfer
3/09/2009

Sports lawyers at North West firm Brabners Chaffe Street LLP have again confirmed their position as market leaders in the football industry by advising on a host of transfers, contract re-negotiations, work permits and managerial appointments during the summer transfer window.

Most notable was the firm's involvement in the world record £80m transfer of Cristiano Ronaldo from Manchester United to Real Madrid, with Brabners Chaffe Street advising United in the deal. Other deals worked on for United included the acquisitions of Michael Owen, Antonio Valencia and Gabriel Obertan.

The firm worked on over 30 deals during the window including advising Liverpool on its acquisition of Glen Johnson as well as securing its captain Steven Gerrard, on a new long term contract. Other transactions included advising Bolton Wanderers on its acquisitions of Korean player Lee Chung-Yong and Ivan Klasni? of Croatia, Wolverhampton Wanderers on its capture of Serbian playmaker Nenad Milijas, Wigan Athletic on its purchases of Jason Scotland and Mohamed Diame and Birmingham City on the transfer of Christian Benitez.

The firm also advised Welsh international Ched Evans on his move from Manchester City to Sheffield United, German international Robert Huth on his transfer from Middlesbrough to Stoke City and on the proposed transfer of Chinese national team captain Zheng Zhi to Celtic.

The firm was also instrumental in some of the biggest managerial moves of the summer, advising Steve Bruce on his appointment at Sunderland and Wigan Athletic on its appointment of former Swansea City manager, Roberto Martinez, as Bruce's replacement.

Finally, the firm also worked on its first transfer of a female professional footballer during the window receiving instructions from US women`s team LA Sol to loan the three times FIFA Women's World Player of the Year, Marta Vieira da Silva, to the Brazilian club, Santos.

Matthew Bennett, a Partner in the firm`s Sports Department, commented, "The number and nature of the transactions we advised upon during this transfer window demonstrates our national and international reputation in the football industry. Whilst total transfer spending in the Premier League appears to have been slightly down on last year, the football transfer market has overall remained largely resilient in the face of the economic downturn, which can be seen from the many high value transactions completed across the major European leagues."

The Brabners team included Maurice Watkins, Matthew Bennett, Edward Canty, Lydia Edgar, Carol Couse, David Bentham, Stuart Baird and Matt Barnes.


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