Will he become an amateur? Football agent explains Hamsik’s transfer options

Will he transfer or stay in China? The future of Marek Hamsik (33) for the coming months is still undecided. As football agent Jozef Tokos explained, the options for the captain of the Slovak national football team are limited.

In mid-February, media reports circulated that Hamsik might play in the top Russian league. According to Russian media, Moscow clubs CSKA and Lokomotiv were interested. Around the end of February and beginning of March, RTVS reported that the Dalian Pro player could potentially strengthen reigning Slovak champions Slovan Bratislava.

“Hamsik’s options depend on open transfer windows in various countries. We always follow the rules of the country the player is transferring to—that's the general answer to such questions,” Tokos explained to Sport24.sk. Since Hamsik still has a valid contract with Dalian, the Chinese club would have to agree on a transfer with a new club from a country where the transfer window is still open, and of course, the player himself would have to agree.

According to Tokos, the key factor is whether the player has a contract or not. “In Slovakia, as we know, the transfer window for professionals closed on February 21. The only exception is for so-called unemployed players—those whose contracts ended before the transfer window closed. Such players can transfer to Slovakia until March 15, but only two per club. So it depends on whether Hamsik was willing to terminate his contract,” the agent stated.

The former Napoli star could still come to Slovakia by changing from a professional to an amateur, though that remains speculative. “As far as I know, amateur transfers are open until the end of March. That’s a question more for the Slovak Football Association and the registry, whether this process is realistically possible. There are also rules stating that re-amateurization (declaring a former professional athlete as an amateur) can take place thirty days after the player’s last match. That wouldn’t be a problem in his case, but the idea of Marek Hamsik acting as an amateur is a speculation I don’t want to get into. On top of that, the idea of him transferring as an amateur is extremely absurd,” Tokos added.