Ismaila Sarr's Agent Critiques Transfer Treatment of African Players
Ismaila Sarr’s agent has gone public after Liverpool’s late push to sign the Crystal Palace winger collapsed, using the failed move to deliver a pointed message about how African players are treated in the transfer market.
Liverpool, fresh from bringing in Victor Munoz and striking a huge £123million deal for Bradley Barcola, tried to add a third winger before the deadline. They held several rounds of talks over Sarr with Palace, while also exploring a deal for Brighton’s Yankuba Minteh.
During negotiations for Barcola, Liverpool had also discussed Ibrahim Mbaye, but chose not to follow through. The 18-year-old instead joined Aston Villa for €55m (£47m).
The Reds tested Palace’s resolve with a £40m offer for Sarr. Some reports, including from Fabrizio Romano, suggested Liverpool later went as high as £50m for the Senegal international, though other sources denied that figure. Either way, the deal hit a wall. Palace set Sarr’s price at more than £50m and made it clear they would not sanction a late sale.
It was not the only move to fall apart for Diomansy Kamara’s clients. Lamine Camara saw a £47m switch to Chelsea collapse at the final moment when Monaco pulled out of selling the midfielder.
That double frustration prompted Kamara to post a long, emotionally charged statement on social media.
“The cases of Ismaïla Sarr and Lamine Camara must all interrogate us,” he wrote. “We have to get out of this logic where the African player can sometimes give the feeling that he is just a commodity: you buy it, you set its price, you negotiate its future and, too often, your will seems to go to the background.
“Our African players deserve respect. The respect of their work. The respect of their career. Respecting their ambitions. The respect of their voices.
“A transfer shouldn’t just be a matter of two clubs and numbers. Behind every contract, there’s a man, a career, dreams and life choices.
“The fact that clubs can sometimes have the final word is a reality of professional football.
“But one question remains: what about the career and the will of the player? The player must be able to be heard and respected in the decisions that determine his future.
“Let’s never forget what’s important: behind every success, it’s the players who write history first.”
His words landed against a backdrop of uncertainty around Sarr’s future. Manchester United and Galatasaray both showed interest during the window, and the winger even deleted all Palace-related photos from his Instagram as he pushed for a summer move.
United never turned that interest into a formal bid. Galatasaray did, but their proposals came nowhere near the £50m mark.
Liverpool’s search for another wide forward did not stop with Sarr. Their pursuit of Minteh also ran aground. Verbal offers of £50m and £60m were rejected by Brighton, who drove a hard bargain. Andoni Iraola’s side considered raising their bid to around £65–70m, only for Brighton to respond with an £80m valuation that effectively shut the door.
So Liverpool leave the window with Barcola as the headline attacking arrival, an undeniably exciting signing for supporters. Yet the sense lingers that one piece is missing. The third winger never came, nor did the right-back or central midfielder many fans expected.
For Sarr, and for Kamara, the bigger question now hangs in the air: when the next opportunity comes, will the player’s voice carry more weight than the numbers on the table?
