Learning from tough transfer market lessons
Kevin-Prince Boateng had a stellar career including spells at many of the world’s biggest clubs: AC Milan, Borussia Dortmund among others.
And he has experienced it all with agents in the transfer market, both good and bad. From being told 10 days after joining Tottenham Hotspur in 2007 that he wasn’t in the Head Coach’s plans, to announcing himself on the UEFA Champions League stage with a move to AC Milan that resulted in an impressive few seasons at the San Siro.
Now he is building on those lessons to give young talents from his native Berlin, home to his first club Hertha BSC, the chance to emulate Boateng’s Champions League dream, as he told TransferRoom in this exclusive video interview.
The former Ghana international who grew up in Berlin co-founded his own agency in the German capital, Rookie & Champ. He is building it on transparency, trust and providing the resources the next generation need to reach the top and handle the pressure when they get there.
“The focus is for Rookie & Champ to bring Berlin talents onto the biggest stages in football. We really are focusing on quality.
“What I always said is, if I get into the agent game, I want to help this agency with my name, with my image. I want to do it a certain way and a certain way. We're giving them all the exams they need for the body, blood tests, food wise, extra training, tactical training, mental coaching. They get it all in a week’s schedule. We really invested a lot of time, a lot of money to get these players ready when they're 18 that there's nothing that can shake them.
“So even when I'm here with the clubs and they're looking for players, I tell them if you get a Rookie & Champ player at 18, he's ready for everything. He's ready in front of 50,000 people to shoot a penalty.
“I always say that when I walk in their villa and I see all they have. I always say if I had that, I would have played 10 years in a row in Real Madrid.”
Why Kevin-Prince Boateng joined TransferRoom
One of the first things Prince Boateng and Rookie & Champ did was join TransferRoom, world football’s transfer marketplace.
Over 800 clubs and 550 Trusted Agencies connect directly, gain unrivalled real-time market intelligence and accelerate their transfer market success. All Trusted Agencies are verified by their players on TransferRoom, so club decision-makers know exactly who to come to.
TransferRoom's online platform and in-person events are built on transparency, trust and bringing together the world’s transfer market decision-makers in one place.
Asked about why they joined TransferRoom, Boateng said: “Because we think that's the future first of all. And second of all, to have all the contacts. That's the most important in football.
“If you can just grab your phone and call this Sporting Director and you can call this owner, that's what it's about. All the chitty chatty is nice, but at the end, if you need decisions made, you can call these people and here you get all the contacts for the right people at the right time.”
Following Rookie & Champ’s arrival on TransferRoom, Boateng attended the TransferRoom Summit in his home city of Berlin in March 2025. Key people from over 300 clubs and 60 agencies met in one place, holding up to 23 one-to-one meetings per attendee, sharing knowledge and building connections through two days of networking.
“I was shocked that this thing even exists,” Boateng adds. “It's like speed-dating, but with major people who make decisions to get the next superstar, you know.
“I was shocked when my partner told me, ‘Yeah, we have these meetings every 15 minutes.’ And I was like, ‘What do you mean?’ ‘Who are we sitting down with?’ ‘Parma, Panathinaikos…’ And I was like, ‘Really, they're all coming?’ And they're all here. It’s a really cool idea."
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