How veteran contracts work as Lewandowski scores a hat-trick at 38

Key takeaways

• Playing for a national team does not depend on a club contract, because selection belongs to the national federation and not to the player's employer.
• Clubs must release registered players for official international windows under FIFA's rules on the status and transfer of players.
• Contracts for players in their late thirties tend to be short, often for one season, and sometimes include options or extensions tied to conditions.
• Retiring from international football has no formal effect on a player's club registration, contract or transfer status.
• When a veteran's contract expires, any move is usually on a free transfer, and training compensation no longer applies at that age.

What is happening with Poland and Bosnia-Herzegovina?

BBC Sport reports that Robert Lewandowski, aged 38, scored a hat-trick for Poland in a Nations League match that Poland won 6-0. The same report says Edin Dzeko played his last game for Bosnia-Herzegovina. The material available here does not name Poland's opponent, and it does not give any further detail about the circumstances of Dzeko's farewell.

These are two separate international stories, but together they raise one structural question for the transfer market. How do players near the end of their careers keep playing at international level, and what contracts with their clubs are running alongside that?

Why is this in the news now?

The story comes from an international window, the period in the calendar when club football stops and national teams play. The Nations League is UEFA's competition for national teams. It fills those windows with competitive matches instead of friendlies, and it uses a league format with promotion and relegation between tiers.

International windows are important to the transfer market because they are the only times when a club's employee plays for someone else. A player on a club contract, paid by the club, competes for a federation that pays no salary in the normal sense. When the players involved are veterans, attention naturally moves to how long they will keep playing and on what terms.

What background does a newcomer need?

First, club and country are legally separate. A footballer's employment contract is with their club. That club registers the player with its national association so they can play in domestic and continental competitions. International eligibility depends on nationality and FIFA's eligibility rules, not on the club contract.

Second, FIFA's Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players oblige clubs to release players for matches on the international calendar. A club cannot refuse release just because a player is older or because it would like to rest them. Federations pick their squads and clubs make the players available.

Third, a player does not need a club at all to be selected for their country. In principle a free agent can be called up, because national team eligibility does not depend on club registration.

Fourth, there is no formal process for international retirement. A player announces it or simply stops being selected. Nothing changes in the registration systems that govern club football.

Who is affected and how?

Clubs employing veteran players carry the cost of the contract while the national team gets the player's appearances. A club's interest in managing a player's workload can conflict with the federation's selection decisions. The release rules mean the federation's call-up generally takes priority during official windows.

The players themselves usually negotiate different contracts late in their careers. Common features include shorter terms, often a single season. Some deals include an option to extend, either for the club alone or by mutual agreement. Others include clauses that trigger an extra year if certain conditions are met, such as a set number of appearances. Pay may be split between a lower guaranteed salary and larger variable elements. The specific terms of the contracts held by Lewandowski or Dzeko are not covered by the source material and are not known here.

National federations have to plan for succession. When a long-serving international steps aside, as BBC Sport reports Dzeko has done for Bosnia-Herzegovina, the change is a selection matter, not a contractual one. It still affects how the federation builds its squad for coming windows.

Clubs looking to recruit see veterans as a particular kind of target. A player approaching the end of a contract can usually be signed without a fee once the deal expires. Under FIFA rules, a player in the final six months of a contract may also agree a pre-contract with a club in another association.

Where do informed people disagree?

The main debate is about contract length and value. One view holds that experienced players on short deals are efficient signings: little or no transfer fee, limited long-term commitment, and a clear end date. The opposing view says the wage bill for an established veteran can still be substantial. On this view, a squad place given to an older player can slow the development of younger ones, and that cost does not appear on the balance sheet.

There is also disagreement about appearance-based extension clauses. Supporters see them as fair to both sides because the extra year only arrives if the player keeps playing. Critics say they can push coaches to manage selection around a contractual threshold, which puts incentives in the wrong place.

At international level, people differ on when federations should move on from long-serving players. That debate is about selection philosophy rather than any rule, and it is outside the scope of this article.

Finally, the international calendar remains contested. Clubs, leagues and player representatives have repeatedly questioned the number of matches that FIFA and the confederations schedule. Veterans who still play both club and international football sit in the middle of that argument.

What are the practical implications?

For clubs, the practical point is that an older international's contract has to allow for windows the club does not control. Medical and conditioning decisions during those windows belong mainly to the federation. Clubs therefore often think hard about squad depth in the weeks either side of an international break.

For contract negotiations, a player's continued international selection can act as informal evidence of current level. It may strengthen their position when an extension or new deal is discussed. It gives no contractual entitlement, though, and clubs assess what they need on their own terms.

For the transfer market, contract expiry is the moment that matters most. A veteran whose deal ends in summer becomes a free agent. A free agent can sign with any club, subject to that club's squad limits and to registration rules. Registration still normally depends on transfer windows set by each national association. FIFA's rules allow some flexibility for players whose contracts expired before a window closed, but the details vary by country.

For players retiring from international duty, nothing changes in their club status. They stay under contract and registered, and there is no transfer consequence.

What should readers watch next?

The next point to watch is the timing of contract expiries for veteran players across Europe's leagues. These usually fall at the end of June. Whether extension options are exercised, and whether players move on free transfers, will show how clubs currently value experience against age.

The second is how federations handle the generational shift in their squads in upcoming international windows. That is a sporting decision with no contractual element, but it shapes which players gain international exposure, and that in turn affects their value in the club market.

The third is the continuing negotiation over the international match calendar. Changes to the number or timing of windows would directly affect clubs that employ players who still represent their countries.

Frequently asked questions

Does a footballer need a club to play for their national team?

No. International selection is decided by the national federation under FIFA's eligibility rules, which depend on nationality and related criteria, not on club employment. A player without a club contract can in principle be called up. In practice, federations usually pick players who are playing regularly, but having a club is not a formal requirement for appearing in international matches.

Can a club refuse to release a player for international duty?

Generally not during official windows. FIFA's Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players oblige clubs to release registered players when they are called up for matches on the international match calendar. The rules include limited exceptions and procedures, but a club cannot simply keep a player back because it would prefer to rest them or because of their age.

What happens to a player's club contract when they retire from international football?

Nothing changes. Retiring from international football is a decision about national team selection and has no effect on club employment. The player stays under contract with their club, stays registered with the relevant association, and keeps all contractual rights and obligations. There is no formal registration process for international retirement in the way there is for joining or leaving a club.

Why do older footballers often sign one-year contracts?

Short contracts limit the risk for both sides. A club avoids a long commitment to a player whose future availability is uncertain. The player keeps the freedom to reassess at the end of each season. Many late-career deals add an option to extend for another year, sometimes triggered by appearance conditions, which adds flexibility without a guaranteed long-term cost for the club.

Do clubs pay a transfer fee for veteran players?

Usually only if the player is still under contract with another club and that club agrees to sell. When a contract expires, the player becomes a free agent and can join a new club without a fee. Training compensation, which can apply to younger players, stops after the season of the player's twenty-third birthday, so it does not affect veterans.

What is the Nations League and how does it fit the calendar?

The Nations League is a UEFA competition for European national teams, played during international windows. It groups teams into tiers, with promotion and relegation between them, and replaced many of the friendlies that used to fill those dates. Because it uses the standard windows, the usual FIFA rules on clubs releasing players apply to its matches.

Sources and further reading

• BBC Sport: original report on Lewandowski's hat-trick in the Nations League and Dzeko's final game for Bosnia-Herzegovina.
• FIFA: Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players, including the annexe on releasing players to national teams.
• UEFA: competition regulations and format documents for the Nations League.
• National football associations: published registration rules and transfer window dates for professional players.