About Northern Stars
Northern Stars is a Norwegian football agency offering services as a football agent, and seek to safeguard the sporting and financial interests of football players and football clubs.
From our base in Oslo, Northern Stars assists players and clubs with domestic and international transfers, and follows up players and clubs in connection with contract signing, career guidance and player logistics.
At Northern Stars, we understand the players and the clubs, and their opportunities and challenges, so that they achieve their goals. Our advice is clear and practical, and always takes our customers' interests as a starting point. Northern Stars is based on an understanding that the relationship between a football agent and the club or player he represents is built on trust, a trust that must be built up through mutual relationships and the achievement of common goals. In football, the conditions change quickly, and we are keen to be adaptable in order to be able to constantly look after players and clubs in the best possible way.
Northern Stars uses its broad national and international network, solid experience, professional insight and in-depth knowledge of football. We strive to always do what is best for our players and clubs.
Northern Stars is owned by Espen Auberg, who, in addition to being a FIFA Licenced football agent, is a lawyer and partner at Advokatfirmaet Nova. Espen specializes in football and sports law, and has a background from the Norwegian Football Association (NFF), where he was legal director for ten years. In addition to his law degree, he has two diploma degrees organized by UEFA, respectively in Football Management from the University of Lausanne, and Football Law from Kadir Has University in Istanbul, Rey Juan Carlos University in Madrid, and the University of Padova. He has been a member of UEFA's legal committee and has developed a large network in football, with close contacts in UEFA, FIFA and national football associations, as well as in Norwegian and European football clubs. This background enables him to give footballers and football clubs top advice and assistance in negotiations.
For Northern Stars, it is particularly important to act within the rules that apply to football agents. This involves, among other things, that at the start of an assignment we will always make sure to enter into a representation contract with the player or club we will represent. This representation contract is in accordance with the NFF's and FIFA's regulations.
The representation contract will regulate Northern Star's fee. We work based on a "no cure - no pay" model, which means that we only charge if we succeed in completing a transfer or signing a contract. Usually the fee is calculated as a percentage of the contract value. If Northern Stars is engaged by the player, the fee will be calculated as a percentage of the player's salary. In such cases, it is very common for the club to accept to pay the football agent's fee, which is typically agreed towards the end of the contract negotiations. If Northern Stars is engaged by the buying or selling club, the fee will normally be calculated as a proportion of the transfer fee.
In addition to using a large network in football, Northern Stars also uses important tools such as Wyscout ​and Transferroom, and is one of the few Norwegian football agents certified as "Trusted Agent" by Transferroom. By using these tools we reach a greater number of potential clubs than traditional football agents. These tools give Northern Stars the opportunity to come into direct contact with thousands of clubs worldwide, giving increased opportunities to find clubs that suit players represented by Northern Stars.
If it is relevant for the player to change clubs, Northern Stars will play an important role by making use of its national and international network, and connect the player with clubs that may be appropriate for a transfer, and in this connection act as a link between the player, the new club and the existing club.
Where Northern Stars assists players, we have an important role in contract negotiations with the club, as the player will usually have little or no experience in such negotiations, while the club is often represented by experienced managers who regularly participate in contract negotiations. In such a situation, Northern Stars will ensure that the player's interests are looked after in the best possible way.
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When entering into a player contract, we will normally use a standard contract prepared by the Norwegian Football Association for transfers to Norwegian clubs, or standard contracts prepared by the relevant national football association for transfers to clubs in other countries. In such a player contract, salary and other financial benefits will be important, which will be negotiated by Northern Stars, in consultation with the player. In addition to a fixed salary, we will normally negotiate various bonuses and additional benefits. Such individual bonuses and additional benefits can be sign-on fees, which are either paid as a lump sum or in fixed installments once or twice a year. We can also negotiate bonuses for the number of games played, goals scored and assists. It is also common to negotiate loyalty bonuses, which are paid after the player has been at the club for a certain time. We also ensure that the player becomes part of the club's team bonus scheme, where the player receives a share of a team bonus for the club's achievements, e.g. related to how far the team gets in the cup, position in the table at the end of the season or participation in UEFA's competitions. For players who sign with clubs abroad, it may be relevant to include buyout clauses in the player contract, which means that the club is obliged to approve a transfer if a club pays a predefined amount. In Norway, it is not legal to have such a buy-out clause. For some of the most high-profile players, it may also be appropriate for us to negotiate an agreement that regulates the player's image rights.
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Northern Stars represents clubs in connection with transfers, where we work with our national and international network to carry out transfers for players who fit the club's profile. Before a club can start negotiations with a player, it must first be clarified with the player's club that they have permission to contact the player, and Northern Stars will be able to play an important role in this process. Northern Stars will also negotiate with selling clubs or football agents representing selling clubs to ensure the lowest possible transfer fee. A transfer fee will depend on many factors, e.g. the player's age, sporting level, and remaining contract length. If the player's contract has expired or expires within six months, the player can normally be signed without a transfer fee being paid, but it must still be clarified whether a transfer can trigger a claim for training compensation. Northern Stars will be able to help clarify this, as well as enter into agreements with clubs that are entitled to training compensation that they waive their rights in this regard.
