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In the end there was a clear winner. And Jay-Z’s latest victory came only 24 hours after the first record featuring him actually rapping for four years had been released by his wife, Beyoncé, on an extended remix pack of Morning Dew (Donk).
These days, the man who remains one of the most influential artists in hip-hop has his fingers in many pies, from the streaming service Tidal and his own streetwear brand, to champagne and cognac. But it is Roc Nation Sports – an offshoot of his entertainment company of the same name founded in 2008 – making headlines in the summer transfer window.
Established five years later in partnership with Creative Artists Agency, it began mainly representing players from the NBA, NFL and MLB, including Kevin Durant. Bayern Munich’s Jérôme Boateng was the first football client, in 2015, before Roc Nation Sports International (RNSI) was established four years later with a focus on stars at big European clubs.
Based in London, it now has more than 100 players on its books, including Vinícius Júnior – the Brazil forward who signed a lucrative new contract with Real Madrid this week believed to be worth around €25m. That came after Arsenal had been linked with a blockbuster move for the 26-year-old.
In July 2023 RNSI took over the successful Brazilian agents TFM – who already represented Vinícius, Gabriel Martinelli, and Endrick – and renamed it Roc Nation Sports Brazil.
In negotiations that have lasted two years, it had hoped to persuade Real to increase their star asset’s salary to €30m a year to match Kylian Mbappé, and allowed his contract to enter its final 12 months in an effort to drum up interest elsewhere. While Arsenal – now exploring other attacking options including Everton’s Iliman Ndiaye – are believed to have been willing to pay a big fee for Vinícius, it is understood that they thought signing him on a free transfer next season was more likely.
Nonetheless, Real upped their offer and Vinícius stayed. It is a decision that looks likely to cost them the chance to sign Rodri from Manchester City after Barcelona stole a march on their great rivals.
On the same day as the new six-year contract for Vinícius was announced, Yan Diomande flew to the Spanish capital to complete his record £115m transfer from RB Leipzig. The 19-year-old – who has made only 46 appearances at senior level for the German club and for Leganés in the Spanish second division but is already the most expensive African player in history – was pictured with his agents, Nathan Campbell and Kareem Gbaja on a private jet. RNSI has been reported to have been paid up to £17m in commission and fees.
A long-running saga that began when Liverpool had a £70m bid rejected by Leipzig in June ended with Diomande signing a seven-year deal at the Bernabéu on Thursday. It has provided a telling insight into the mechanisms of a modern transfer, with every week bringing a fresh twist. Having been told they must pay in excess of £100m to sign Diomande, Paris Saint-Germain withdrew from the race at the end of July after releasing a statement that said the European champions “will not engage in the inflationary and manipulative games of certain player agents”.
RNSI has also had to fend off two legal challenges, including one from the former Bournemouth winger Max Gradel who claims that his agency, Maxidel Management, had an existing agreement with Diomande. Gradel has filed a complaint with Fifa, although world football’s governing body did not block the player’s move to Real. Dez Bamba – who is president of Diomande’s first club, AFI Sud Comoé in Côte d’Ivoire – has said that the winger was persuaded to join RNSI after receiving a call from Vinícius. RNSI has not commented on the case.
Meanwhile, the Rainbow World Group instigated proceedings at the high court in London and the British Virgin Islands against Diomande in mid-June “to enforce binding image rights and intellectual property agreements tied to his early career development”. It is claimed Rainbow invested significant resources in the winger, including taking him for trials at Chelsea, Bournemouth, Crystal Palace and Newcastle before he was signed by Leganés. RNSI has not commented on the case.
Given Diomande’s meteoric rise, perhaps it is no surprise that clubs are flocking to invest in African academies.
Jeff Luhnow – the former general manager of the Astros and St Louis Cardinals who won three World Series baseball titles and owns Leganés as part of his Blue Crow network of clubs – told the Guardian last year Diomande was expected to be the first of many after they set up recruitment and development programmes in several African countries, including Ghana and Zambia, in the past several years. “We’ve got more players like that in our pipeline,” said Luhnow.
RNSI announced in November that it has signed eight young African stars, including the Ghana Under-17 midfielder Joseph Narbi and Francis Gomez, a Gambian winger currently at AC Horsens in Denmark. “We believe Africa is a hotbed of untapped footballing potential, and our expansion here is a natural progression of our global vision,” said Campbell.
In the dog-eat-dog world of football agents Jay Z’s new kids on the block are certainly making their presence felt.
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