Alexis Mac Allister: What we know about the fee and release clause

Alexis Mac Allister is all set to complete his move from Brighton to Liverpool but there remain questions and speculation surrounding both the fee and release clause.

Depending on what you read, Liverpool are paying either £55 million (The Athletic), £35 million (Fabrizio Romano) or a multipack of sizzling king prawn McCoys and 5kg of cheddar from Costco (WeAreBrighton.com) for the services of the World Cup winning midfielder.

The presence of a release clause is cause for further conjecture. Brighton through Andy Naylor have spent the past year insisting the Albion “don’t do” release clauses.

And yet Liverpool are getting Mac Allister for a knockdown fee when he only signed a new contract in October. Clearly, there must be something in that deal which facilitates a transfer away from Brighton.

So, here is what we think we know so far regarding Mac Allister, Brighton, Liverpool, money changing hands (or crisps and cheese) and a release clause that is not a release clause. Or is it?

Alexis Mac Allister – the fee
The base fee for Mac Allister is set to be £35 million rising to a deal worth £55 million in total with various add-ons and bonuses, according to several sources.

The Argus have also gone with this figure. Brian Owen reported: “The Argus has been told the deal will be worth £55 million although that is likely to include add-ons.”

From South America, Ole.com.ar have said the deal totals €60 million. Their information in likelihood comes direct from Mac Allister’s representatives, who have no ulterior motive for opting for the lower or higher figure.

Unlike Romano and The Athletic, who despite reporting figures £20 million apart are both still correct.

Romano and media in Liverpool report the lower figure to make it appear as though the Reds have a bargain. Brighton lean on Naylor and The Argus to report the upper figure and suddenly, the fee received looks much more acceptable to Albion fans.

This discrepancy in numbers depending on the audience being played to happens rather a lot. Take the transfer of Marc Cucurella from Brighton to Chelsea last summer.

The world and his wife knows it as a £62 million deal. But Chelsea actually paid £55 million with £7 million in add-ons.

Given how crap the Blues and Cucurella have been since he moved to Stamford Bridge, it would seem unlikely the Albion are going to receive any bonus money out of that transfer.

Alexis Mac Allister – the release clause
Even that £55 million number seems low for a player of Mac Allister’s ability and versatility, capable of playing as a six, eight or 10. Liverpool are almost getting three midfielders in one.

Whilst most outlets are reporting that Liverpool have triggered Mac Allister’s release clause to initiate the deal, Brighton-friendly media are referring to it as a “release mechanism” or “escape mechanism”.

The facts are – no matter how complex said clause might be – that Liverpool have used a stipulation in Mac Allister’s contract that enables his release from the Albion.

Brighton might want everyone to call it something else, with Paul Barber having said on release clauses in March: “We don’t operate like that and we try and avoid things like that because they become such a big point of discussion in negotiations.”

But if it walks like a release clause, looks like a release clause and quacks like a release clause, it is a release clause. And in this case, it is a sensible piece of business.

Mac Allister’s contract had been due to expire in the summer of 2023, although presumably the Albion had the option of another year until 2024 which they would have activated.

Had he not signed contract in October, he would have entered the final 18 months of his contract back in January. Both Yves Bissouma and Leandro Trossard went for £25 million in similar situations.

If it was a choice between Mac Allister signing his new deal in October but only if it included a £35 million rising to £55 million “escape mechanism” or running his contract down, then Brighton were right to break their no-release clause rule.

Better to receive a guaranteed £35 million for Mac Allister through said “release mechanism” than see him leave for an even lower fee, ala Bissouma and Trossard.

Had Brighton stuck hard and fast to “not doing” release clauses, they would have received even less for Mac Allister.

It is a good example of being flexible with these things, like how a club who “don’t do loans” signed Levi Colwill on a season long loan from Chelsea.

Losing Mac Allister for £35 million rising to £55 million is not ideal from a Brighton point of view. But it could have been a worse.

Good business from Tony Bloom and Barber again, even if it is not the sort of sensational deal we have become used to them pulling out the bag.