The summer transfer window is in full swing, but it is not only agents and club owners who are working full tilt – behind the scenes the removal men who ship the star players’ belongings across the globe are flat out, too.
Elite footballers are crisscrossing the world this month as squads worth hundreds of millions of pounds are assembled for next season and VIP shippers are following them to all corners of almost every continent, to fetch or deposit prized possessions.
‘[Once the deal is done] they want to move tomorrow, or today even’, said Andy Wells, owner of Premier Relocations, who will move more than 100 players this summer.
Premier Relocations moved Erling Haaland from Germany to Manchester after his transfer
‘Last summer we moved about 100 all over the world. It is not just the UK and Europe, it is the US and Australia. This summer it is even busier,’ added Wells.
The London-based firm are removers to the rich, but specialise in the top footballers who are coming to or departing from the Big Five leagues in Europe, as well as the States.
Their Insta is like a hall of footballing fame.
Among their recent clients are Erling Haaland, who arrived at Manchester City from Borussia Dortmund earlier this month, Gareth Bale, who is just back nine years after he left for Spain before heading to America, as well as Dele Alli, Lucas Digne, and Theo Walcott.
The company brought Kieran Trippier’s gear back to England after he left Atletico Madrid last season, having won LaLiga, before joining Newcastle United, and they moved former Chelsea midfielder Saul Niguez when he joined the London club on loan from Atletico in 2021.
The firm usually receives a call from an agent or club executive alerting them to an imminent move and then an advance team hits the road to survey the home. With offices in London, Madrid and Barcelona, as well as partners in capitals across the globe, they are never far away from the next big deal.
Premier have a close relationship with City, a club that’s focused on helping players settle
The removal company posted a picture on their Insta of their staff with Haaland after the move
‘We can have a player in New York and we can have someone in his house within 24 hours,’ said Wells, who spoke to Sportsmail in between three meetings with players planning transfers, on Thursday. ‘We are the best at what we do in my opinion. No one else goes to the levels we go to.’
Once they have assessed the job, a team of six…