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Goes really hard against Norwegian football: – Foreign clubs sit and laugh

In the summer of 2021, the Danish Superliga club Nordsjælland sold the Ghanaian super talent Kamaldeen Sulemana for almost 200 million to French Rennes. They have also had several big sales in the hundreds of millions class in recent years.

– Sweden is pissed that Denmark gets paid so well for its players, and we are pissed at the Swedes because they get paid better than us. It is difficult to say why it is like that now, because throughout the 90s, Norway was the leading nation in the Nordic region. It is not long ago at Rosenborg was the undisputed best club. We must not forget that.

Berntsen points out, among other things, that the media, in a way that is covered, must take their share of the blame for Norwegian players going for a lower summer.

– If we say that we will have 30 million for Ibrahima Koné, then only people around Norwegian football and the Norwegian media will start laughing. There I can shoot a little back at the media in Norway, because when they talk about the price of Norwegian players, it is completely behind target, he says and points out an example.

– Well, I will not talk to each other, but Taofeek Ismaheel in Fredrikstad. If he had wasted in the Allsvenskan, no one would have talked about a sum of six to seven million kroner, it’s just nonsense, says Berntsen.

The Sarpsborg manager has more in his heart and mentions Jørgen Strand Larsen who must have been valued at around five million when he was sold from the club.

Had it been in Sweden, he would have been raised in the media at a price between 25 and 40 million. Then people can say that it is only the media that speaks, but it is definitely about building an expectation and attention around and playing that can do a lot for the outside world. Foreign clubs read the media to form a picture of how interesting the player is, he says.

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Haldenseren was eventually sold for around ten million kroner to Dutch Groningen and became an immediate hit. He was also part of Ståle Solbakken’s first national team squad in March. The top talent, on the other hand, had to report due to injury, and has been outside the A national team since.

Pointing to the Danish model

Another factor that Berntsen points to is the Danish Superliga clubs’ operating policy, where private individuals and investors can buy and run the club on their own. The sports director believes that financial security means that you are significantly stronger when interested clubs come and knock on the door.

– Something I think is the reason why Danish clubs are stronger in negotiations than Norwegian clubs, is the ownership structure in Danish football, because they are absolutely stronger financially with private individuals and investors in the club. I’m not saying that this is the decision, but they have a completely different capital which means that you can afford to say no to clubs that want to pick up their players.

He often finds that people call for more patience in sales situations, but points out that in most cases it is easier said than done.

– It is very difficult for us to match, or at least give our players something close to what they want, to keep them. We can again take Koné as an example, which is a coveted player well. Many say that we must try to keep him one more season, to increase his even more, says Berntsen.

– The problem is that the salaries he will be able to get in a new club can be part of his family, his whole village and all the future.

He explains that a club like Sarpsborg must then be able to offer a salary that will give the player enough reasons to stay another season.

– Of course, it will not be something that is close to what a club in the best leagues can offer, but at the same time a salary that pays well, and we do not have that, he says.

– People we give flat f * en

Danske FC Nordsjælland has the businessman Tom Vernon, who runs a football academy in Ghana called «Right to Dream». In January, the Egyptian Mansour family bought into the club, which will give about one billion kroner spread over several years.

Berntsen experiences that the Danish club can afford to sit through windows and hold their players to a different degree than Norwegian clubs.

– The biggest clubs in Norway can also afford to wait a little longer, but not nearly as long as in Denmark.

The Østfold club itself feels a small change after what they have achieved in recent years.

– Before, we at least did not have a chance in negotiations, as we sat in the barracks at the stadium here and could not even afford an eraser. We have even noticed that we can be a little harder to reach, but we are still vulnerable.

– Is it a wish among Norwegian clubs, as you perceive it, to get a Danish model?

– Some clubs in Norway have a similar opportunity as Danish clubs, where investors come at the end of the season to find out «how much do I have to pay this year, or has it gone around?».

– This is not how we feel in Sarpsborg, but in Denmark they have the opportunity every single year. It is of course a desire to have as good finances as possible, but you have seen cases where a private partnership has not worked at all. One must therefore be a little careful about what one wants to say, he warns.

In the end, Berntsen believes that Norwegian football must also take much of the blame itself. He points out that many people’s attitudes are holding back development, and can punish themselves in the long run.

– We are discussing whether to have VAR or not, if we are to be the nation with the most difficult contracts, rigid regulations, do not have VAR or anything, then people end up just giving a damn about Norwegian football. We have to adapt to what is out there, whether we like it or not. If not we end up as a backyard league no one cares about.

He continues:

– We compete in an international arena and the money is internationally, not locally. The turnover in football has multiplied by ten in recent years, while here in Norway the numbers are stagnant.

– Then we have to hang on, and give people what they want. If not here’s a new product just for you! It must be taken at all ends, Berntsen concludes.