"They don't ask once, they ask many times each year" - Tadej Pogacar's agent reveals widespread transfer interest before new UAE deal

After a record-breaking season in 2024, Tadej Pogacar recently agreed terms on a record-breaking new contract with UAE Team Emirates. According to the Slovenian's agent, Alex Carera, the world champion is more than deserving of the 8 million euro deal per annum.

"The information is confidential. I don't confirm anything 100%, but if you are the best cyclist in the world, you have to have the best contract in the world," super-agent Carera explains of his rider's deal in conversation with Marca. "In any case, I have no doubt that there will be riders who receive a similar amount in the coming seasons."

That's not to say that money is the sole reason behind Pogacar's continued stay at UAE Team Emirates. "UAE gives you the opportunity to have the best resources and it is a family. If you stay in a team where you have had success, if something happens in the future, that good relationship helps to solve any problems. If, for example, you change teams and achieve great results in different teams, when you arrive you have to start from scratch. But in this case, no. Everything will be easier if something unexpected happens in the future. I hope not, of course, but that trust is a reason to decide," Carera says. "When you are the best in the world at your job, you will always have the money. That is why it is not our priority. The goal is to write history, to win all the races."

The new contract also includes an improved release clause, rising to 200 million euros. "Yes. Before it was 100 and now it is 200… there is no big difference. In any case there is no possibility of changing teams," says the Slovenian's agent. "It is as if you write 500 million… if you decide to leave the team it is because you are not happy or if the other party is not happy either. It is very important to understand this point. Because people only think about the amount, but the most important thing is the relationship of trust."

"Many teams constantly want to know how the situation is in case we leave UAE. They don't ask once, they ask many times each year," Carera adds. "Cycling has changed a lot after the pandemic. Firstly, contracts are very long. Secondly, there are now big sponsors. If you are not happy, for the best rider in the world, it is easy for the agent to look for another team and give him more or less the same money. We come back to the same thing: money is no longer the first priority."