Jean-Marc Bosman, sport’s most famous freedom fighter, has hailed Leicester City’s incredible feat but believes their success also owes to the Bosman ruling. Kevin Azzopardi spoke to the man who fell on hard times after securing freedom of movement for footballers in a landmark decision by the European Court of Justice in 1995

The man who single-handedly knocked down the barriers restricting the free movement of footballers in Europe has descri-bed Leicester City’s title triumph as a “breath of fresh air” but feels that he also made his little contribution to their success.

Back in the nineties, Jean-Marc Bosman successfully challenged the decision of his club RFC Liege to impede him from joining Dunkerque at the end of his contract in 1990 in a landmark decision by the European Court of Justice that became universally known as the Bosman ruling.

The Belgian believes that, without the Bosman ruling, modest clubs like Leicester City would probably have struggled to build a title-winning squad around foreign players but lauded their management team for their wise strategy.

“Leicester City winning the English title is a very good sign,” Bosman, who left Malta on Wednesday after making a guest appearance at the Malta Football Players Association (MFPA) Awards on Monday, remarked.

“FIFA and UEFA have created systems where they have accumulated money at the top, systems like the Champions League, but the Bosman ruling was about freeing up people, making things a bit more even.

“I like to see things where we have a level playing field despite all the obstacles.

“The 25 richest clubs will end up transferring players between them, the others don’t get this chance.

“Leicester City’s title success is like a breath of fresh air… summer is here but there is always a risk of returning to winter.

“I’m very happy for Leicester, really great news, but without the Bosman ruling they wouldn’t have been able to do what they did.

“It was very smart management by Leicester City, they were very clever in how they brought their team together. It shows that money isn’t everything.”

Bosman earned iconic status in the history of football after his victory at the European Court of Justice but he has paid a high price as his decision to go against the system effectively ruined his career.

Not that he has any regrets, though.

“No I wouldn’t because I did something which was for the good of football,” Bosman replied when asked if, 20 years on and with the benefit of hindsight, he may have tackled the issue differently.

“It was something positive and I think it helped people.”

While the Bosman ruling paved the way for players to earn more money, millions in the case of the top stars, by abolishing the transfer compensation when they reached the end of their contract, life has been anything but rosy for the Belgian who has encountered serious financial difficulties and also battled alcoholism.

“For starters, we thought it was only going to be about two weeks,” he recalled.

“We contacted the Belgian FA but they didn’t answer and that is when the whole long saga really began.

“I was considered a persona non grata in the world of football after this. The ruling ended not only the transfer regulations but also nationality rules.

“It brought a lot of happiness to a lot of footballers.

“It helped free up football, let people move around wherever they wanted to and you can see that in countries like England, Spain and Italy, but it hasn’t resolved all the issues.

“You can see today where FIFA is still trying to impose its way, its rules on the world of football.”

Despite his crucial role in securing freedom of movement for footballers, Bosman has received scant support from the chief beneficiaries of his actions.

Former Dutch internationals Frank and Ronald de Boer and Mark van Bommel, and PSG stalwart Zlatan Ibrahimovic are among the few players who offered some kind of help to Bosman, now 51.

“No, I didn’t really have much (help),” Bosman said.

“There were a few instances of footballers who helped out, from the Dutch team, and I received help from FIFPro, the footballers’ union.

“Obviously, it would have made things different for me personally if a few of them had been able to help out here and there.

“I went to Milan a few years ago and visited the changing room. (Mark) Van Bommel gave me his football shirt.

“Zlatan Ibrahimovic was also playing for Milan at the time and he gave me his shirt as well.

“At the news conference, Clarence Seedorf, who was the Milan captain, actually interrupted it and said: “Listen, we would like to present Jean-Marc Bosman to you.

“He really helped footballers around the world and we would like to publicly express our appreciation for what he has done’.

“Obviously, they don’t point this out in the match commentaries (of the Champions League and Europa League), they’re not going to say that all these foreigners are on the pitch thanks to Jean-Marc Bosman… that’s not how it works.

“When Ronald and Frank de Boer were leading the Dutch team, in one of their games they got all the players to agree to give their match fee to me.

“It was €2,500 per player.

“I was considered a persona non grata in the world of football after this. The ruling ended not only the transfer regulations but also nationality rules. It brought a lot of happiness to a lot of footballers.

“Of course, if I had been given a cut of all the transfers which have been made since 1995, even €50, I would hire the penthouse suite at the Radisson Golden Sands, I would be able to buy my hometown club Liege, I would be extremely rich.

“I spent a long time living on benefits but a year-and-a-half ago, when I started working with FIFPro doing interviews, the authorities considered that as income and I lost that as well.”

Talking to Bosman, it’s impossible to escape the feeling that his financial and psychological travails after taking on the footballing establishment left an indelible mark on him to the point that he has grown disillusioned with football and sport in general.

In a recent interview with The Telegraph to mark the 20th anniversary of his landmark judicial victory, Bosman was quoted as saying that he was keen for his two sons to pursue their studies and only practise sport on an amateur basis.

“I can’t stop them of course (from becoming footballers) but I prefer if they wouldn’t because I know what the sporting world is like,” he said.

“I’m bit disillusioned. Even WADA, the world anti-doping organisation, is financed by the sporting federations and you can see that they still wield their power and that is still quite a bad influence on the sport.”

MFA rules

Bosman’s brief stay in Malta as guest of the MFPA inevitably cast the latter’s mission to abolish transfer fees for out-of-contract Maltese players into the spotlight.

The Belgian looked visibly annoyed when talking about this issue, declaring that he would be more than happy to revisit Malta if the MFPA won their fight to remove the transfer parameters.

“Malta is obviously one of the few countries in Europe that doesn’t respect the Bosman ruling,” he said.

“I met Carlo Mamo (MFPA general secretary) at the FIFPro Congress in Amsterdam last December.

“When he told me this (that players are not entitled to a free transfer at the end of their contract) I was astonished, I couldn’t understand why it was still like this… it was like going back to the nineties.

“I’m very pleased to be here and I’ve received a very warm welcome.

“Obviously if this problem is resolved, I would be delighted to come back here, wearing a t-shirt with the message ‘Bosman, MFPA ­– Freedom Fight’, and celebrate this victory with you.”