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Michael Laudrup's dismissal as manager of Swansea City in February 2014 was due a conflict of interest with his agent taking a cut from transfers, according to El Mundo. The newspaper reports that that Laudrup's agent Bayram Tutumlu pocketed €4.3 million (£3.6m, $4.6m) from seven signings made through him by Swansea between 2012 and 2014. Tutumlu charged a high commission percentage, to be paid from the total agent fees, when players that Laudrup requested were signed by the South Wales club. El Mundo, using information taken from an article published on Danish newspaper Politiken, one of their partners, claims that Tutumlu agreed a contract with an unnamed Spanish agency and earned €1.6m (£1.35m, $1.7m) from the transfer of Alejandro Pozuelo from Betis in July 2013. The Spanish playmaker, now at Belgian club Genk, joined Swansea on a three-year contract for an undisclosed fee. When Swansea discovered the secret dealing, they sacked Laudrup and also severed ties with Tutumlu due to the conflict of interest. El Mundo reports that on Feb. 13, 2014, a letter obtained by Football Leaks from an unnamed Swansea director to the League Managers' Association stated that: "We believe that if BT [Bayram Tutumlu] was not involved in a player's transfer, ML [Michael Laudrup] would reject the signing. We continue to investigate." Laudrup, the former Barcelona and Real Madrid star, reached a compensation agreement with Swansea four months after the club cut ties with the Dane. Under Laudrup, Swansea won the first major trophy in their history when they beat Bradford City 5-0 to win the League Cup in 2013.
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