Premier Relocations helped Manchester City star Erling Haaland move house – and he is just one of hundreds of Premier League players on their client list
The Premier Relocations office where Andy Wells heads up his operation is adorned with the shirts of their most famous clients
Paul Pogba with Wells, during the French star’s move to Monaco this summer
So how does the process actually work? What are the pitfalls? And does it ever all go horribly wrong? Daily Mail Sport spent deadline day with the men responsible for making the move after the move.
Well, for a start, no one day is the same as any other. And that’s part of the challenge. Processes differ with calls coming from players, agents or clubs directly and more often than not, the relocation conversation happens after the move is confirmed.
There are occasions where a player has three houses in the same city due to extended family and family security, while sometimes players move within months of moving to be closer to a team-mate or someone from their country. Breaches of security as well as separations can lead to relocations.
‘Occasionally we’re privy to the knowledge of a transfer but usually we need to do things within 24 to 48 hours of the move getting announced,’ says Wells. ‘Sometimes the international players want to get out and instead of paying extortionate rent over the summer, they’ll just give us their keys to pack everything up then tell us to sort it out once they know where they’re going.’
The anecdotes are plenty, and here are two of the best.
‘We had to buy oxygen because a player’s daughter wanted the same goldfish,’ says Wells. ‘The driver had to stop every few hours and give goldfish oxygen in a small bag but we did it.
‘Then there was Jurgen (Klopp, when he left Liverpool last summer). It was a pinch yourself moment when he said come and have a beer and pizza. More often than not, it’s a sacking when we move a manager but this was special because he was an icon and he’d called time himself and it was really nice to see that side of things.
‘The move took 10 days door to door as the stuff went to different places but he was really accommodating. Even the schoolkids from nearby came to take pictures.’
Jurgen Klopp invited Wells and his team in for pizza and a beer when he left Liverpool last summer
Peter Crouch and his wife Abbey Clancy were also clients in January
Former Chelsea captain John Terry is among the clients of Premier Relocations down the years
He has turned down requests from Netflix and Channel 4 to follow his team over the transfer window while players like Gareth Bale, John Terry, Alan Shearer and Fernando Torres have been clients over the years.
Torres even asked if the crew fancied going to the Madrid derby in 2015 after they helped with his move from Milan to Spain and Wells joked they’d only come if he scored. He ended up scoring twice at the Bernabeu for Atletico.
With offices in London, Manchester, across Europe and a global network, no job is out of reach. Recently they moved Olivier Giroud back to France from Los Angeles and Paul Pogba to his new club Monaco.
A look at the diary with Premier Relocations operations director Dan Norton, operations manager is quite something with his spreadsheet containing notes specifying the client, the location, the type of job and the size of the load which can range from 450 cubic feet (a Luton van will be needed) to 3,000 (you’re going to have to go and get a trailer).
There is a detailed log of everything that is moved with some clients also asking for photographs. Some will even ask for their clothes to be split by colours. Or season. Or by short sleeve and long sleeves.
In the warehouse are hundreds of containers which are labelled with players’ names – most of which have moved this summer but others date back years, because they haven’t asked for them back yet or they have no use for those belongings.
‘There’s a player we moved in 2009 who’s left 10 massive containers here,’ says Norton. ‘Every winter, we’ll get the call to get the Christmas decorations out and then back in.’
Ultimately it’s a question of trust, in an era where footballers are targets. Premier Relocations have a collaboration with the Professional Footballers Association the League Managers Association, as well as working directly with most Premier League clubs.
Premier Relocations work with a huge warehouse full of crates of players’ belongings to be moved – though some never leave!
England striker Ivan Toney, another client of Wells’, with his belongings to be moved
In 2009, Wells helped with a very important move involving a certain Portuguese star
‘The clients become friends along the way and they know they can call us whenever,’ says Wells. ‘Like with anything, players talk and players’ wives talk and we’re on their exclusive social media platforms.
‘It’s a hand-holding process. It’s one of the hardest times and we’re there to help. Yes, they get paid great money but all of a sudden they’re gone and you’re tearing them and their wife and kids away from their friends.
‘Mental health is a huge concern. But it’s lovely seeing them do well and being able to play a small part in their journey.’
One more question before we go, and leave them to the rest of their moves. Who’s the most famous person in your contact book?
With a little grin, Wells opens WhatsApp showing a conversation with Cristiano Ronaldo. He was a Premier Relocations client in 2009, when he swapped Manchester United for Real Madrid. If you’re good enough for Ronaldo, then you’re good enough for the rest.