When DTs ask a president to keep his word

In Argentine football, your word matters. A handshake in a corridor can seal more transfers than any contract. In ELDT, it works the same way: managers haggle by chat with the presidents of the clubs run by the game, and sometimes what is on the line is not the price, but honour.

We gathered a few real conversations, with the managers’ names left out, where someone felt they had been let down.

"Your word matters, but my squad has me by the short and curlies"

One manager had been negotiating with the president of Club Ituzaingó over the sale of a young player. The president had shown interest and even made an offer, but when it came to closing the deal, he backed out. The manager complained:

"But you’ve only just made me an offer, haven’t you? Don’t gentlemen have to keep their word?"

The reply was honest. The president explained that the player was eight points below the average of his squad and that difference meant he could not bring him in:

"Your word matters, but the reality of my squad has me by the short and curlies. Sorry, it’s off."

What’s interesting is that the same manager did not give up. In another chat with the same club, he offered a 37-year-old veteran "with titles won", reminded him that last time the president had backed out, and asked to be compensated "for damages". The president accepted the complaint:

"Fair point about what happened before. Right then, I’ll go up to 6 million. Final."

Sometimes, pushing your case with the right arguments works.

"I have my word, but I also have a club"

Not every president backs down. One manager had asked Sportivo Don Torcuato for a youngster, and the president told him that if the bid reached a certain figure he would put him up for auction. The manager reached it, but the president changed his mind. The reproach was brief: "You don’t keep your word".

"Easy there, mate. I do keep my word, but I also have responsibility towards my club. Then I thought it through and the lad is key for us. It’s not that I lied: I changed my mind, and that is allowed."

And he finished with a "that’s football, mate" that any fan who has watched their hero move to a rival will understand perfectly.

The president who said sorry

The best of the lot is from a club that did not have a manager at the time. One manager had listed a player because the president had told him he would bid, but the offer never arrived. Fed up, he wrote:

"If you’re not bidding, I’m going to ask you not to message me again. You’ve fooled me."

The president did not defend himself: he admitted the mistake.

"You’re right, I got it wrong. I told you one thing and then changed my mind without letting you know properly. That’s not right. I’m going to the market now and I’ll bid, I owe you that. But don’t write me off like that, eh? Next time we’ll both be clearer, alright?"

It’s not often a president admits he got it wrong. In ELDT, it happened — and by chat.

What these chats teach you

In ELDT, you do not buy from a catalogue. The clubs in the game have their own interests: they watch the cash, think about their squad and sometimes change their minds. That makes every negotiation different, and patience plus good arguments can be just as valuable as having money.

A few tips for your next chats:

• If a president backs out, ask why: more often than not, the answer has to do with his squad rather than you.
• Remind him what he said before. Sometimes he admits the mistake and improves the offer.
• Sales go through a public auction: even if words have been agreed, any club can still bid.

Are you the type to seal everything by word of mouth? Create your club at eldt.com.ar and negotiate with the game’s presidents.