Moises Caicedo has undergone a major change in recent months, parting ways with the agent who oversaw his club record £115 million transfer to Chelsea in 2023 and instead joining forces with a sports lawyer to look after his affairs. But a statement published on social media implying that trust issues were a problem in his previous arrangement had to be removed.
Caicedo leaves former agent
Caicedo had been represented by Manuel Sierra of Football Division Worldwide. Sierra had played a central role in the Ecuador international joining Chelsea from Brighton & Hove Albion two summers ago, when a Liverpool switch had initially looked likely. Another agent, Ali Barat, was also involved in brokering the deal that was until recently – when it was broken by Florian Wirtz and later Alexaner Isak – the most expensive in British football history.
But Caicedo is no longer involved with either. Instead, moving forward, his business is being handled by Chris Farnell of IPS Law, a firm based in Hale, Greater Manchester that specifically looks after clients in sport. It was confirmed in a statement signed by Farnell and posted on social media by Caicedo that his previous contract with Sierra ended on August 14 and wasn't renewed. Barat, from the Epic agency, also now has no involvement in the player's affairs.
AdvertisementAFP'People he can trust'
But that statement also included a cryptic and slightly incendiary final line that implied the reason for Caicedo switching his representation was down to trust issues.
A closing line of "…the player has now appointed people that he can trust" appeared to be a dig at Sierra, and was promptly taken as such by fans when they saw it online.
Caicedo subsequently deleted his post sharing the statement, perceived as further confirmation, as well as guilt for dragging his former agent's name through the mud in the eyes of confused onlookers.
However, it took a BBC report to clarify the situation and defuse any potential tension that may have been building. Despite it looking as though some kind of argument or rift had transpired, there was said to be no "ill will" at all in the split. Instead, the wording of the statement was put down as clumsy and "awkward", given that it, wrongly as it goes, implied that there had been.
Still, it may not deliver a positive early impression of the firm now representing Caicedo to have allowed ambiguous and/or misleading wording to be published in the first place.
Getty Images SportWho is Chris Farnell from IPS Law?
IPS Law states its clients include "Premier League Football Clubs, Championship Football Clubs, senior international football and rugby players, international cricketers and golfers, as well as rights holders, sponsors, event organisers, promoters and agents."
Cristiano Ronaldo is listed as someone who has used the firm’s services in the past. That makes sense given that he was based in a similar part of south Manchester/Cheshire during his time at Manchester United between 2003 and 2009. A "Thank you for all your help" testimonial from the five-time Ballon d'Or winner even sits in pride of place on the company's website. Ex-Manchester City defender Aleksandar Kolarov, someone else who lived locally while playing in the Premier League, is also listed.
Senior partner Chris Farnell was the lawyer who specifically worked with Ronaldo and is now involved in managing Caicedo's business. Other clients of his include Roberto Martinez, formerly the Wigan Athletic and Everton manager and therefore based in north west England, and Manchester boxer Tyson Fury.
According to the published bio: "Chris Farnell advises leading Premier League and Football League Clubs, leading sporting and media agents and a number of high profile sporting individuals on a wide variety of matters.
"Chris' practice areas include: Sports, Media & Entertainment. He specialises in image rights, third party ownership issues, player transfers, intellectual property contracts, contract re-negotiations, sponsorship and endorsement contracts, defamation, sports dispute resolution, footballer and agent disputes, doping hearings, regulatory issues, and both contentious and non-contentious intellectual property law."
Getty Images SportCaicedo continuing to thrive
On the pitch, Caicedo continues to thrive after putting public criticism early in his Chelsea career firmly behind him. He is vitally important to Chelsea's prospects as the Blues ultimately seek a first Premier League title since 2016-17 and is yet to miss a minute in the competition this season.
The 23-year-old, although primarily known as a defensive midfielder, has also added goals to his game and has three in seven league appearances so far. His best previous Premier League tally across a whole campaign was one, while just one more will match his career-high tally of four league goals for first club Independiente del Valle in Ecuador's 2020 Serie A season.