To the microphones of TheTelegraph he spoke again Stefan De Vrij of his farewell to Lazio which forced him to take his old agency that represented him at the time to court. The Dutch player previously said how he would not have wanted to leave the Biancoceleste team on a free transfer, but this was prevented by the behavior of the SEG which represented him and which hid some things from him in order to have a greater profit from the commissions from his move toInter.
Relationships with the agency
I did my moral part. I’ve told my story and what they do with it is their own thing. What I always recommend is… whoever represents you obviously matters. But make sure you have an independent party reviewing all documents. I think that’s the best advice I can give. Sure, it costs, but it’s worth it. This is the most important thing. To make sure everything on paper is done right.”
Renewal negotiation with Lazio
They would have earned maybe a tenth of the commission with Lazio so for them it was really important that I signed with Inter. One of the main reasons I kept going was that I was taking a big risk. I was at risk of paying tax on their commissions and also a penalty. So I had to make sure I was covered by this and if they were not willing to grant it, I would go to court. This was the main reason for moving forward with this project. I knew I had a strong thesis and that I had nothing to hide. I had the truth on my side. They, SEG, had to explain that they did not represent me. All they could say was that I didn’t pay them directly, I wasn’t a customer and I didn’t have a signed contract. But in Dutch law a verbal agreement is binding. It was about justice, so I wasn’t afraid to do it. Reaction to the victory in court? I was euphoric, the first time and the second, because let’s say they were years in which I worked very hard. This was a big thing for me. It was very satisfying that the hearing went very well, but you never know what the judge will say. I was very happy. The judges said I was right.
