Third-party ownership
Also called TPO
Third-party ownership is an outside investor holding a share of what a player is later transferred for, and it has been prohibited since 1 May 2015.
The regulations state that no club or player may enter an agreement with a third party entitling that party to participate, in whole or in part, in compensation payable on a future transfer, or assigning them any rights in relation to a future transfer or transfer compensation.
Agreements predating 1 May 2015 were allowed to run to their contractual expiry rather than being torn up, which is why the practice took years to disappear from the game rather than ending overnight.
The prohibition is often confused with the sell-on clause, which remains entirely legitimate. The difference is who holds the interest: a sell-on is held by a club that previously employed the player, as part of the transfer that moved them. Third-party ownership is held by someone outside the game who simply bought a stake.
Worked example
A club agreeing to pay 20% of a future transfer fee to the club it bought the player from is a sell-on clause, and is permitted.
An investment fund holding 20% of that same future fee, having paid the club for the privilege, is third-party ownership, and is not.
Source: FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players, January 2026 edition, art. 18ter
Related terms
- Sell-on clauseA sell-on clause entitles a selling club to a share of what a buying club later receives if it sells the player on, most often expressed as a percentage of the next fee or of the profit made on it.
- Third-party influenceThird-party influence is an outside party gaining the ability to affect a club’s independence, policies or team performance in employment and transfer matters, which the regulations prohibit.