Talent Representation
Talent representation is one of the core strengths of Teacher Stern’s sports practice, and we are widely recognised as one of the leading sports law firms in the UK.
We regularly advise some of the biggest names in sport including football clubs, sports bodies and sports agents as well as Premiership footballers, Olympic athletes and other international sports men and women.
We advise on all the day-to-day issues faced by talent/players and their agents/representatives, including:
- Transfers of player registrations
- Image rights and intellectual property issues
- Representation and management agreements
- Employment contracts
- Disciplinary matters
- Sponsorship, endorsement, publishing, merchandising and other commercial agreements
- Defamation
Our sports clients benefit from our significant experience and understanding of the issues and opportunities regularly faced by individual sportsmen and women, and their agents. As part of our full legal service, we can also introduce our sports clients to other specialist lawyers in Teacher Stern who can advise them in relation to matters relating to immigration, estate planning & Wills and real estate.
Representative Talent Representation Work
Examples of our team’s talent representation work include:
- Advised “Oscar” dos Santos Emboaba Júnior in connection with an extension of his current contract with Chelsea.
- Advised third party rights holders in the transfer of Carlos Tevez to Manchester United and subsequently to Manchester City FC.
- Advised Carlos Tevez on his disciplinary issues with Manchester City and in his subsequent transfer to Juventus
- Advised in connection with the high profile transfers of Paulhino (Tottenham), Willian (Chelsea) and Oscar (Chelsea).
- Advised leading Great Britain athletes in respect of the selection policy of their respective governing bodies in the lead up to London 2012 and Commonwealth Games 2014.
Key contacts:
Biography
As head of the firm’s corporate and commercial practice, David’s broad transactional experience includes acquisitions, disposals, take-overs and mergers, asset sales/purchases, joint ventures and company restructuring. He also advises clients on a range of corporate and commercial matters, including company/partnership formation, partnership/shareholders agreements and employment issues.
David has particular experience in the field of sport, acting amongst others for prospective purchasers of Premiership and Football League clubs in takeovers. He is also at the forefront of the development in England of the investment in and transfer of the economic rights of sportsmen and women.
For property investor clients, he has particular expertise in the disposal and acquisition of corporate and similar structures which assist in mitigating stamp duty land tax.
David was listed as a ‘leading individual’ in the Legal 500 2020 rankings. He was also listed as a recommended lawyer in the 2024 rankings.
Representative Experience
David has experience:
- Acting for investors in the economic rights of football players playing in the Premier League and the top divisions in other European Countries as well as in South America. Over the years, David has been involved in providing advice connected with the transfers, economic rights participation and/or playing rights of various Premier League and foreign based players including Carlos Tevez, Javier Mascherano, Jo, Gonzalo Higuain, Luis Fabiano and Heurelho Gomes to name but a few. More recently David has provided advice in relation to the following players: Paulhino (Tottenham) Willian (Chelsea), Oscar (Chelsea) and Carlos Tevez (Juventus).
- Advising on a £430 million acquisition of a mixture of offshore and onshore companies owning 180 petrol stations and advising on the sale thereof three years later.
- Acting on a series joint ventures for a leading UK celebrity magazine and newspaper publisher with a combined value in excess of £280m.
- Acting for the prospective purchasers in their takeover of a Premier League Football Club.
- Advising on the £166 million sale of a group of companies with an industrial portfolio.
- Acting on the acquisition and financing of 545 public houses, worth £163 million.
- Advising on the £25 million sale to a UK plc of a leading UK independent internet service provider.
- Advising the founders and owners of a high end chain of London coffee shops on the sale, earn out and rollover of the owners’ differing interests in the business to a well known industry leading private equity firm.
- Advising the owners of a mining public relations agency on the sale of the worldwide operations to a UK quoted company.
Testimonials
‘David Salisbury is extremely personable, has an acute commercial sense and instils every confidence that he will provide sound reasoned advice with his clients best interests and not there to score points with the other side.’
Legal 500
Year qualified
Solicitor, 1992
Career History
Partner, Teacher Stern
