Credit and context
This in-depth feature draws from Thorsten Wirth’s long, rare interview with Tom Junkersdorf on the TOMorrow Business Podcast. We curated, translated and lightly edited quotations from German to English for clarity. FootballAgencies.com did not conduct the interview; all quotes originate from TOMorrow.
ROOF’s origin story: quality over quantity
ROOF was founded in 2013 by Thorsten Wirth, Daniel Delonga and Hannes Winzer after senior careers at Adidas. From day one, their strategy was to scale value, not headcount.
“We managed to double the value of our portfolio with almost the same number of players. Our growth is not through volume but through quality and a rising average market value,” Wirth says.
That philosophy, coupled with deliberately low public profile, has put ROOF at No. 1 in Germany and top-five worldwide by their own performance KPIs.
“In a business obsessed with exposure, we believe you can operate just as well with restraint. That’s become part of our agency’s signature.”
Wirth stresses the firm is not personality-dependent:
“If I decided tomorrow not to be an agent, ROOF would continue. The brand, the processes and the team are the product, not a single face.”
Footprint and structure: wholly owned, globally placed
ROOF operates offices in Munich, London and Madrid, with plans to open in Italy and France, and it has expanded in the United States via a strategic relationship with United Talent Agency.
“Our growth should come via 100% owned presence rather than loose cooperations. Control matters when you’re promising a standard of service across markets.”
From adidas to agency: the leap
Wirth’s route was not a childhood dream of “becoming an agent.” He worked at Siemens Inhouse Consulting, then adidas, where he managed elite athletes. The turning point:
“The campus, the brand - everything at adidas was wonderful. But inside, I felt: this won’t carry me for the next 40 years. I needed the sport world without corporate guardrails.”
A pivotal sparring partner in that decision was Per Mertesacker:
“Per was invaluable in our thinking phase. He later joined us as a client, but first he gave us the courage to make the switch.”
The roster: Champions League names and different arcs
ROOF’s client list spans many of the game’s biggest stages: Virgil van Dijk, Kai Havertz, Serge Gnabry, Leon Goretzka, Konrad Laimer, Marc-André ter Stegen, David Raum, Niklas Füllkrug and more. Wirth’s snapshots of several key stories:
Virgil van Dijk and the Liverpool effect
Thorsten Wirth is frank about how Virgil van Dijk became part of ROOF:
“He actually joined our England advisor, Neil Feuings, quite early on. So Virgil van Dijk has been working with Neil for years now, and that’s how he became part of ROOF.”
What makes Van Dijk different isn’t only elite defending—it’s platform and personality working in sync:
“Virgil is simply a global brand… You become a global brand more easily in the Premier League than in the Bundesliga, probably. That means the platform is part of it—the kind of exposure that Liverpool has. Whether they tour the USA, Asia, or Australia, just by being part of the club, as a player you already have a certain leverage.”
And then there’s the presence you can’t teach:
“You also need the personality for it… he’s someone who makes an impression in any room he enters—through his physical presence, his character, his charisma. When you have Liverpool on your shirt and you’re that kind of person, with that mentality, a certain charm, wit, and intelligence in how you speak and what you say, it’s a perfect match for a world-class career.”
Do ROOF point young players to Van Dijk as a template? Only when needed—because ideally, the work speaks first:
“Ideally, we let our work speak for itself… but of course we’re proud to share those stories. We have many examples where we support players from a young age through their entire career—and plan what comes after. That’s one of our greatest skills: building long-term relationships.”
At the decision table, Wirth says the edge isn’t a magic clause or a slick deck. It’s trust:
“Top-level advisors all have good legal knowledge and marketing; they negotiate good contracts. The difference is the personal touch with the person at the table—can you credibly show you’ll support a career with clear standards and values, and be a trustworthy, reliable partner? In the end, the personal match is the decisive factor.”
Konrad Laimer’s Bayern ascent
“If we’re honest, few expected him to become this important this fast. It’s a reminder that at Bayern, amidst all the glamour, you can still write an underdog story through will, fight and relentless work.”
Leon Goretzka’s two-year headwind
“Leon faced the question - am I wanted here? - for far too long, despite strong numbers. His comeback has been outstanding. Both sides know what they have in each other.”
The Wirtz question: a family-run megadeal and patience at Liverpool
Thorsten Wirth doesn’t sugarcoat how rare it is to pull off a nine-figure deal without a traditional agency in the room:
“There are also plenty of situations where there isn’t even a professional agent involved… Take Florian Wirtz, probably the biggest deal of the summer, 150 million, and it was set up by his father. That’s pretty remarkable.”
For months, the industry watched to see if and when the family would bring in outside help:
“The whole industry was probably watching to see when the family would bring in outside help, and whether they could really see it through to the end on their own, and they did a great job… There was definitely a lot of pressure… top tier in terms of fees and salaries, and huge media attention.”
Could that model work for everyone? Wirth is clear:
“Is this a model that always works? I don’t think so. Wirtz has the luxury of being, along with Musiala, the most exceptional player in Germany. He doesn’t have a demand problem. Most players do. For many, it’s not a given there are four or five offers on the table - you have to actively develop, negotiate, and work to plan the best possible career.”
ROOF did knock, like everyone else:
“Of course we pitched at some point… the door was closed. With a player of that quality, if we hadn’t pitched, we wouldn’t have been doing our job. But the family has managed it without an agency to this day.”
On the early weeks at Liverpool and the snap judgments that followed, Wirth urges context over hot takes:
“To judge Wirtz after matchday two or three… is way too soon. Even world-class players need time to adapt - new dressing room, different culture, different league and dynamics. We’ve seen it before: Mertesacker to Arsenal needed an adaptation phase; Havertz to Chelsea didn’t look perfect from day one. I hope he’s given that time, and the last few games suggest he’s already trending up.”
And where a family-led approach isn’t realistic, Wirth stresses hand-in-hand models that have worked:
“We’ve often shown you can develop careers together with families… With Serge [Gnabry], the family was very involved; with Kai Havertz, the family played a great role. It can work harmoniously and professionally, to everyone’s satisfaction.”
Wirtz’s move is a singular case - a generational talent, a father-led negotiation, and a result that stood up to the glare. For the other 99%, the path typically requires structured guidance, market access, and the stamina to manage transition, not just the transaction.
Inside the Havertz deal: ROOF’s toughest negotiation, and how Abramovich flipped the market
Thorsten Wirth is unequivocal: Kai Havertz to Chelsea was the hardest transfer on ROOF’s books.
“It was the toughest transfer. In fact, looking at the market conditions at the time, the transfer of Kai from Leverkusen to Chelsea was already a real challenge… it happened during the Covid period.”
The backdrop mattered. Empty stadiums, uncertain broadcast cashflows, and boardrooms asking basic questions about risk:
“…people were asking: what do empty stadiums mean, what does it mean for revenue, what does it mean for the transfer market? How long is this whole situation going to last?”
Within that fog, Havertz sat in the rarest bracket:
“Kai was only an option for four or five top clubs… He’s moving between number 1 and number 4 or 5.”
Early on, Chelsea were not in pole position. The inflection point came from then-owner Roman Abramovich:
“Chelsea actually wasn’t necessarily in pole position, but then… he said, ‘Now, let’s go against the trend. If everyone else is waiting and not acting, we’ll go all in.’… ‘We weren’t planning to spend, but if everyone else is stepping back, we’ll step in.’ And then Chelsea really pushed hard for this deal.”
That counter-cyclical green light changed the temperature of the market overnight. From there, it became a grinding, line-by-line negotiation-with no release clause to lean on and Bayer Leverkusen’s valuation standing firm:
“We came to the table relatively late as a new player in a difficult market environment, while Leverkusen, understandably, had very high expectations for the transfer fee. And in this case, there was no release clause. So it was a negotiation where we were in the middleman role, helping both parties to make the transfer happen.”
The scale of the package, the pandemic timing and the constant time pressure turned it into a one-off:
“Given the market situation, but also the size of the deal, and size always brings pressure, it was truly exceptional.”
Translation to the pitch: Chelsea’s ownership made a bold, anti-cycle call; Leverkusen negotiated hard without a clause; and ROOF had to manage both the transaction and the transition -getting a world-class talent through a COVID-era megadeal and into a new league, dressing room and rhythm.
ter Stegen and Barcelona: composure under fire
On Marc-André ter Stegen’s turbulent summer at Barcelona and the long national-team debate with Manuel Neuer:
“In a phase that bordered on humiliation, Marc-André and his agent René vom Bruch chose restraint. They didn’t shoot back. It was an extremely professional response to a very difficult situation.”
Wirth adds a broader truth:
“Football can be disappointing and merciless. Marc-André would likely have been Germany’s No. 1 in any other decade. Now the timing of injuries may yet rewrite another chapter. He has the mentality to come back, again.”
Why deadline day is rational, not chaotic
Fans see dysfunction; dealmakers see deadline economics.
“The hard close of the window creates leverage. English clubs have the greatest demand power; they push decisions to the deadline because the clock itself is a bargaining chip. Injuries, coach changes, tactical shifts - those force late moves in a world of fixed-term contracts.”
Leaks, insiders and the Fabrizio effect
Do high-profile leaks move deals?
“It would be a poor reflection on clubs and agents if a single post determined an outcome. If that were true, we all slept through our jobs. Reporters today are incredibly networked, but you can still operate quietly. Bayern’s recent silent renewals showed that.”
What a modern agency actually does
The work goes far beyond “get the contract signed.”
“It doesn’t stop at the signature. We help build the off-pitch environment so the performance culture at the club can exist at home: rehab choices, relocation, schooling, mental support, media posture, wealth planning, even the first weeks of integration.”
On injuries and returns:
“You must be there on two axes: the content axis - medical options, club coordination, long-term planning, and the mental axis - strength, reassurance, absorbing the pressure.”
Mental health and social media: a plea for perspective
Wirth urges empathy in the face of online abuse and “perform now” narratives.
“We should not underestimate what public criticism and hate speech do to a player. Per Mertesacker once spoke openly about nausea in the tunnel, sleepless nights - brave and eye-opening. Salaries don’t cancel the psychological tax.”
Füllkrug and the reality of misfires
Not every well-reasoned move lands perfectly.
“Niklas Füllkrug’s Premier League step didn’t work, despite planning and conviction. Then the job becomes to reset quickly, with the human in mind.”
Money, transparency and the fee model
Wirth argues for more transparency, U.S.-style, on salaries and agent fees.
“Greater openness would bring hygiene to the dressing room. In the U.S., contracts are public; the gossip disappears. I wouldn’t oppose transparency, not for salaries and not for commissions.”
On compensation:
“In Europe, you’re typically 8–10% of the player’s fixed salary. Participation in transfer proceeds is not automatic; it can be a salary-substitute mechanism to attract players who accept a lower wage now for upside later. It’s a joint bet, think of Dortmund’s pathway signings.”
Handling the media swirl around Bayern, Real, the Premier League
Why does Bayern seem to leak more?
“It’s partly a German perception because of Bayern’s dominance and media attention. In Madrid or Barcelona, locals would laugh at the idea their clubs are ‘quiet.’ England is different in another way: access is tighter at training grounds, so the coverage can be more speculative.”
The U.S. market and owned expansion
ROOF views America as a growth market - on the field and commercially, with the 2026 World Cup as a catalyst. But the playbook remains the same:
“Wholly owned offices, consistent standards, and our way of working. We scale by control and quality, not by spraying headcount.”
Negotiation mindset: calm over heat
If there’s a single trait Wirth would teach his 20-year-old self, it’s composure.
“Calmness. Respect at the table, never fear. Football is emotion, and early on I took things too personally. The best deals are those where everyone can live with the outcome, because durability is what powers the next window.”
Life after the roar: purpose and planning
ROOF pushes players to build identity beyond matchday, well before retirement - education, foundations, media, and prudent wealth architecture through specialist family-office partners.
“It’s a luxury to have something outside football that carries you while you play. When the stadium noise stops, there must be a plan for meaning and for money.”
What to expect next from ROOF
The mission doesn’t change: deepen quality, widen owned presence, and keep delivering outcomes that stand up under the harshest lights.
“Success is addictive,” Wirth admits, “but ours is measured, one right move at a time.”
Editorial note: All quotations in this article are translated from Thorsten Wirth’s conversation with Tom Junkersdorf on the TOMorrow Business Podcast. FootballAgencies.com compiled, translated and organized the material for this feature. You can watch the interview below.
