Unión, a player-exporting machine: sales above USD 40 million | OneFootball

In Argentine football, the development and subsequent transfer of players became one of the main sustainability tools for clubs that do not have the economic power of the biggest institutions. In that context, Unión managed to consolidate in recent years a model based on promoting youth players, increasing the value of its footballers, and retaining percentages that allow it to keep generating income after a sale is completed.

Under the leadership of Luis Spahn, Club Atlético Unión is believed to have generated, since its return to the First Division, a transfer volume exceeding USD 40 million, taking as a reference deals with amounts officially reported by the institution and those whose values were disclosed by buying clubs, organizations, or specialized media.

The process had different stages and key figures, but it maintained the same logic: backing players developed in the youth academy, helping them grow in the First Division, and then transferring them to the domestic or international market, while in several cases seeking to retain percentages of future sales.

More than USD 35 million in official deals

According to the records presented by the institution, deals with confirmed and net amounts represent more than USD 35.3 million, a figure that rises to around USD 35.7 million when minimum guaranteed capital gains clauses are taken into account.

One of the first major moves of this period came in 2019, when Unión completed the departures of Diego Zabala, Emanuel Brítez, Mauro Pittón, and Bruno Pittón to Rosario Central and San Lorenzo. The package represented a gross income of USD 6,125,000 and an estimated net of USD 4,501,875.

The most important individual sale reported by the club was that of Juan Ignacio Nardoni to Racing Club in 2023. The deal was set at a net USD 4,750,000 for the rights that originally belonged to Unión, while the total amount of the transaction for the buying club reached USD 6 million including taxes.

In that same transfer window, another major source of income was Imanol Machuca’s move to Fortaleza for USD 3,125,000 corresponding to 50% of the economic rights.

A year later, Kevin Zenón joined Boca Juniors for USD 3,405,000 for 80% of his registration rights. The deal also included the acquisition of a percentage of Mauro Luna Diale’s transfer rights and the loan of Simón Rivero.

The list of significant sales grew with Gastón González to Orlando City for USD 2,600,000 for 70%; Joaquín Mosqueira to Talleres for USD 2,700,000 for the full rights; and, more recently, Mateo Del Blanco to Strasbourg Racing in a transfer valued at USD 2,850,000.

Added to those names are deals such as Lucas Esquivel to Athletico Paranaense, Rafael Profini to Kharkiv FC, Mauro Luna Diale to Akhmat, Juan Carlos Portillo to Talleres, and Franco Soldano to Olympiacos, among others.

The income that is also part of the equation

The volume generated by Unión increases when taking into account deals whose amounts were not officially communicated by the institution, but were reported by the buying clubs or by specialized media.

Within this group are transfers such as Mauricio Martínez to Rosario Central, a deal that is believed to have reached USD 2,700,000; Yeimar Gómez Andrade’s move to Seattle Sounders for a figure close to USD 1,600,000; and the transfers of Enrique Triverio to Toluca and Víctor Malcorra to Tijuana, estimated at USD 1,100,000 and USD 1,000,000, respectively.

Also included are the transfers of Diego Barisone to Lanús for around USD 600,000, and Rolando García Guerreño to the same club for about USD 500,000.

This set of deals pushes the volume generated by the transfer market to above USD 40 million since the Tatengue’s return to the top flight.

The money that could still come back in

One of the most important aspects of the model implemented by Unión is related to the possibility of retaining percentages or establishing capital gains clauses in deals.

This means that a transfer does not necessarily represent the last income the club can receive for a player. If that player is sold again by his new team, Unión can obtain new compensation according to the conditions originally agreed.

The case of Nardoni is one of the clearest examples. After arriving at Racing, the midfielder was transferred to Brazil’s Grêmio for a figure close to USD 8 million plus add-ons. Based on the capital gains clause agreed in the original deal, Unión would be entitled to receive new income.

A similar situation arose with Kevin Zenón, whose subsequent transfer from Boca Juniors to Atlas of Mexico once again brought into play the percentage that Unión had retained.

Juan Carlos Portillo also appears in this equation, as his transfer from Talleres to River Plate opened the door to new income for the Santa Fe institution.

A model that turned Unión into an exporter

With different strategies and deals of varying characteristics, Unión managed to turn its academy and the increasing value of its players into one of the institution’s main sources of resources.

The process is not limited to the sales of players developed directly in the youth ranks. It also includes footballers who arrived from other clubs, were developed further in Santa Fe, and were later transferred, as well as deals in which the Tatengue chose to retain percentages with future negotiations in mind.

In that scenario, the transfers of Maizón Rodríguez to Russia’s Krasnodar and the situation of Thiago Cardozo with Belgrano, among other recent deals, could continue to reshape the financial equation.

The balance of the period thus shows a common denominator: Unión managed to establish itself as a club capable of generating significant income from the transfer market, with a policy that combines development, growth, sales, and participation in future capital gains.

For an institution that competes with budgets significantly lower than those of the leading clubs in Argentine football, that ability to turn footballers into assets is a key tool for sustaining its structure and planning new sporting cycles.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.