Agent Diomansy Kamara has issued a statement following the collapse of two high-profile transfer deals involving his clients, Senegal internationals Ismaila Sarr and Lamine Camara, describing the episodes as evidence of a wider failure to respect African players’ agency in the modern transfer market.
Sarr, who has been strongly linked with a move away from Crystal Palace, and Camara, the Monaco midfielder whose proposed transfer to Chelsea collapse, saw prospective moves unravel despite reported interest from their pursuing clubs. In response, Kamara, a former Premier League forward who played for Portsmouth, West Bromwich Albion and Fulham, took to social media to frame both cases as symptomatic of a broader industry problem.
We have to get out of this logic where the African player can sometimes give the feeling that he is just a commodity.” Diomansy Kamara, Agent
Kamara’s statement went beyond the specifics of either deal, instead calling for a fundamental shift in how clubs, agents and the football industry at large treat African players during negotiations.
He argued that transfers are too often reduced to transactional exercises between clubs, with the player’s own wishes relegated to an afterthought.
Full Statement
The cases of Ismaila Sarr and Lamine Camara must all interrogate us.
We have to get out of this logic where the African player can sometimes give the feeling that he is just a commodity: you buy it, you set its price, you negotiate its future and, too often, your will seems to go to the background.
Our African players deserve respect. The respect of their work. The respect of their career. Respecting their ambitions. The respect of their voices.
A transfer shouldn’t just be a matter of two clubs and numbers. Behind every contract, there’s a man, a career, dreams and life choices.
The fact that clubs can sometimes have the final word is a reality of professional football. But one question remains: what about the career and the will of the player?
The player must be able to be heard and respected in the decisions that determine his future.
Let’s never forget what’s important: behind every success, it’s the players who write history first.”
