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Abstract: The athlete as a commodity to be bought or sold to make a profit and the athlete as a machine, from which the maximum possible performance is expected. It is in these two metaphors that the phenomenon known internationally as football trafficking has its roots, a definition that includes both cases of trafficking and human trafficking in football. The problem, which affects thousands of young people from economically poor areas, is also widespread in other sports. The most popular narrative attributes the blame to self-styled agents and intermediaries, who take advantage of the lack of education of young people who see football and sport as their only possibility of social mobility. However, the reality is much more complex, with responsibilities shared by all the players in the system - clubs, the media, federations and national and international political institutions and, sometimes, even the families of the children involved.