January 26 2025

Crystal Palace

Small piece of the cake, even after you’ve given the whole thing away! writes John Frost.

Doesn’t sound bad, and the sell-on clause meaning in football is exactly that. Crystal Palace are known as a club that produces great talents and have a smart transfer policy. Maybe they can’t match an offer that comes from big Premier League clubs, but we can say that the sell-on clause has become a trademark for the Eagles.

The sell-on clause allows smaller clubs to earn at least some money after selling a player to a club with a bigger reputation. Typically, players don’t want to stay because they’re faced with much better conditions, while the smaller club tries to extract some money at any cost. Many sell-on clauses have proven to be very profitable in football history, and we will explain them through the examples and the situation at Palace.

What Does a Sell-on Clause Mean?

For a better understanding what does sell-on clause means, let’s explain it through a simple example. Let’s say Team A has a very talented player in their academy named Bob. It’s expected that big clubs will make an offer for his transfer, and there is no chance of keeping him since the player wants his move to a bigger environment.

Bob wants to make a transfer move to Team B, and Team A believes that he will be more valuable in the future - so they add a sell-on clause in his potential transfer to Team C. Team A tries to make a current price even bit lower if they could make a sell-on clause percentage higher.

It’s never guaranteed, but if Bob makes a future transfer to Club C, the majority of the money will go to Club B, while Club A will secure 10-20%, which can be very helpful if Bob makes a big transfer in the future. A perfect example of this is how Sporting CP earned an additional 12 million pounds from Cristiano Ronaldo’s transfer from Manchester United to Real Madrid.

Olise Sell-On Clause in His Transfer to Bayern Munich

Michael Olise’s sell-on clause is the latest example and one of the great tactical investments made by the Palace management. It was impossible to keep Olise after his performances in the last season, and the best offer was Bayern Munich’s bid of 50.8 million pounds, which also became the record sale for the Eagles.

According to The Sun, Crystal Palace negotiated a 15% sell-on clause with the most decorated German club. That might not seem like much, but if Olise continues with his outstanding form, Palace could secure more money in the future. For example, if the French player decides to leave Bayern for the price of £100 million, Palace would make £15 million more.

Palace don't seem to have found a replacement for the Frenchman yet, but they’ve tried with transfers of Ismaila Sarr, Eddie Nketiah, and Daichi Kamada. That seems a bit uncoordinated at times but looks like the Eagles have made smart investments for the future. They’ve built an excellent foundation of young players, with English internationals Marc Guehi and Eze leading the charge.

Eberechi Eze’s Sell-on Clause from QPR Transfer to Crystal Palace

For now, it seems that Eze could be the best transfer ever made for the Eagles. The brilliant star arrived from QPR, where he started his career, for just £16 million. The complete transfer was worth about £20 million, but even right now Palace can earn a lot more.

Many Premier League clubs were interested in Eze back then, and looks like he made a great decision by choosing Palace. Today, he is one of the best Premier League players at his position, and his price is about £60 million. Eze decided to renew his contract until 2027, and if he continues to shine, this price could seem like a bargain.

According to the Sky Sports reports, QPR made a great move in selling Eze, securing 20% of his future sale. They expected him to become one of the Premier League stars. Right now, when he is a target for big Premier League clubs, looks like they will make more profit, five years after they sold him to Palace.

Will Crystal Palace extend Eze’s exit clause in 2025?

The Eagles can renegotiate the sell-on clause with Eze. The talk around his departure has been a bit calmed down. Eze is not the same one from the last season, but he will find his best form for sure. It will be interesting to see how Palace could handle this in the following months.

If the transfer happens, Eze will be a new record sale for Palace, but it’s still not clear where he might continue his career. There were many offers for Eze, but the biggest ones came from Manchester City and Liverpool. Given that Palace completely understand the sell-on clause meaning, it will be involved in this transfer too.

The Eze saga could come to an end this summer, and if you’re someone who enjoys predicting transfer moves, there is an entertaining way to bet on it. For example, you can bet that Eze will stay at Selhurst Park, and by the end of the transfer window, you will know the result. There are always sites where you can bet on transfers, and using No Deposit Bonuses could give you a head start. You can even bet on the type of transfer that will happen, whether it includes a sell-on or not.

Many of these betting platforms are partnered with top-tier sportsbooks and gaming companies, often securing sponsorship deals with football clubs. For example, Crystal Palace is currently sponsored by an online gaming company, which serves as the club’s main front-of-shirt sponsor. These deals boost brand visibility and also provide clubs with significant financial backing, helping fund player acquisitions, infrastructure, and overall growth. The influence of sponsorships on the sport's commercial picture is only set to grow.

Keep or Sell? Crystal Palace Transfer Strategy for star players

Eze is the first to come to mind, but Palace have many talented players who will be the target of the summer transfer window. The club’s financial model is to invest in sell-on clauses, but should the Eagles try to keep their best players in order to achieve more success?

Guehi will also be targeted this summer, so it’s almost certain that if a potential transfer happens, the Eagles will include a sell-on clause. The solid centre-back has already won the hearts of the fans, and if Palace could keep them in the club, they could be a reliable duo for many years.

Palace Next Moves Outside Selhurst Park

The Eagles have used the record sale of Olise to strengthen their attacking line. So far, it doesn’t seem like a complete success, and Palace’s management might need to look for a solution outside of Selhurst Park and make a new high-quality investment.

Frequent squad rebuilding significantly reduces their chances of achieving their goals. The goal for the Eagles is a comfortable mid-table finish this season, but it will be very interesting to see if Palace can push for European competition in the future years.

For now, it looks like sell-on clauses will help the club’s financial strategy. If Palace can keep their key players and strike the right balance, who knows? Maybe in a few years, they’ll be challenging for those European spots.