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An intermediary is a professional who intervenes, as its name suggests, between two parties. In the case at hand, if we talk about a sports intermediary, what we are talking about is that professional who intervenes between the player and the club or entity that wants to hire the athlete. The normative definition reads “Natural or legal person who, in exchange for remuneration or free of charge, acts as a representative of players and clubs with a view to negotiating an employment contract or as a representative of clubs in negotiations with a view to entering into a transfer contract” , and the norm in which we can read this definition is the Regulation of Intermediaries or that issued by FIFA and the RFEF in the year 2015.

A representative is a person who speaks and intervenes on behalf of another who is represented. The representative may grant by virtue of an express written mandate or a tacit unwritten mandate. The very norm that we have transcribed before defines the intermediary as «player representative» but also «club representative».

The concept of player agent was defined as a "natural person who, through the collection of fees, introduces players to a club in order to negotiate or renegotiate an employment contract or introduces two clubs to each other in order to sign a transfer contract , in accordance with the provisions of this regulation» (Regulation of the year 2007 that entered into force in the year 2008).

In other words, there is not much difference between the current concept of intermediary and the previous concept of agent, since their function is to "negotiate an employment contract" between the player and the club. The name change is linked to the entry into force of a Regulation that introduces notable differences: the players' agent had to pass an exam while the intermediary is not subjected to an exam on his knowledge, which is why unknowns are opened that someone It should clarify whether the examination gives the sector greater credibility, or the absence of it means that "anyone" can be an intermediary. In any case, it is not the object of this article to generate destructive criticism and, on the contrary, what we intend to explain is that to negotiate an employment contract, without a doubt, legal knowledge is required in labor matters and in tax matters, which should be required of those who purport to be sports intermediaries (or previously player agents). Without a good base of knowledge of a legal nature, it is certainly not easy to be able to carry out work in contractual matters that duly satisfies the player-athlete.

The vast majority of agents before and intermediaries are now not lawyers, which is why they do not have the appropriate legal training to be able to negotiate an employment contract that ends up being more beneficial for their client, the professional player who requires said contractual negotiation.