Putting relationships at the heart of football

As the owner and CEO of KSirius Football Management, a Portuguese agency with 10 years of experience, Paulo Veríssimo has built his business around a human-first approach to player representation and management.

The agency represent a number of Men's and Women's players across the world, including Real Madrid recent signing Andreia Jacinto and Benfica's Flourish Sabastine.

But while relationships are at the heart of the business, building trust remains one of the biggest challenges.

“We are like a human-based agency; we care about the people,” said Veríssimo.

“The biggest challenge is the trust. Getting the trust of people is the most challenging part of this business and of this job.”

For Veríssimo, earning that trust requires more than simply exchanging messages or making calls. It requires meeting people face-to-face and building genuine relationships over time.

“I travel a lot. Every month I'm travelling, and sometimes to several countries to meet clubs, to be with some of my players, to be with some of my coaches,” he explained.

“I can tell you that during the year I do more than 50 travels.”

That emphasis on personal relationships is one of the reasons KSirius sees value in being part of TransferRoom’s new Women’s Marketplace.

While meeting people remains fundamental to KSirius’ approach, Veríssimo believes technology can help make those relationships more productive.

By joining TransferRoom's Women's Marketplace, the agency has been able to combine its relationship-driven approach with a platform designed to connect football's key stakeholders more efficiently.

“Being with TransferRoom, it's an upgrade in our way of working and in our way of dealing with all the other clubs and all the stakeholders in football,” said Veríssimo.

“It gives us the possibility of doing the things in a faster way, getting much more results in a lower amount of time.”

Rather than relying solely on existing contacts or spending additional time travelling to identify potential opportunities, TransferRoom's Women's Marketplace provides KSirius with a dedicated environment to connect with clubs and other stakeholders.

For Veríssimo, the value of that access is clear which is already the case with the signing of Iceland international Hildur Antonsdóttir, who joined Newcastle United earlier this summer, in a move helped by talks during TransferRoom's Women’s Football Forum.

“It was my first time that I had speed datings in football, which is amazing.”

“The fact that I met people that I only was talking with on WhatsApp and also on video calls, it's amazing.”

“All the money that we can invest in this kind of platform and events will pay off after three, four, five deals. It's easy.”

For Veríssimo, the benefits of TransferRoom extend beyond simply finding potential transfer opportunities.

He believes that being part of the platform helps clubs and agencies become more connected to the wider football ecosystem while strengthening their credibility within the market.

“I think clubs and agencies should subscribe to TransferRoom for several reasons: for the fact that they will be closer to the stakeholders; it will give them credibility in the market.

“We cannot trust only in the WhatsApp calls, video calls, WhatsApp messages, but you need to meet people,” he said.

“TransferRoom is the right atmosphere and ecosystem to do that.”

Join the Women's Marketplace now

Clubs from leagues across the globe have already signed up, including a host of big sides in the WSL, Scandinavia, the NWSL, France’s Première Ligue and Germany’s Frauen-Bundesliga, and the global network is growing fast.

Find out everything you need to know, and see how to register for the new Women’s Marketplace on TransferRoom now, here.