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By Chris Broadfoot
WELCOME
Thanks for opening this one, and for the replies to last week's edition. I read every one. This week: a Queensland centre-back's first year in Norway and the pay surprises nobody warned him about, plus a simple market update after the Reserve Bank raised rates on Melbourne Cup Day.
THE MAIN STORY
From NPL Queensland to Norway: the pay surprises nobody mentioned
At 25, Cameron Crestani thought football was moving to the back burner. The Stanthorpe-raised centre-back had spent five and a half years in Brisbane Roar's youth setup, played a couple of Asian Champions League and A-League games, then gone back to NPL Queensland, where he scored in Western Pride’s 2017 Grand Final win. By early 2022 he was playing state league football with Caboolture and focusing more on his work career.
Then, on a Friday night around 10pm, Kasey Wehrman called. The former Socceroo was coaching Strømmen IF, a third-tier club in Norway's Division 2, and needed a centre-back. The contract was signed within days, and on the Saturday after that Cameron was on a plane. He'd never had an agent.
If you're in the NPL or on the edge of the A-League and waiting for that first overseas call, his story is worth a few minutes. The football worked out: he has played more than 90 league games for Strømmen and, as of July, was still with the club. The money side is where the surprises were, as he told me on The Overseas Athlete.
The paperwork controls your pay. To be taxed properly, open a Norwegian bank account or even get a phone plan, Cameron needed a personal number. The letter was posted to him, but his name wasn't on the mailbox, so it was never delivered and nobody told him. He arrived at the start of April and didn't have it until about the end of July or early August.
The backdated tax. In the meantime the club paid his wages into his Australian bank account, untaxed, for about three months. Once his tax card came through, the catch-up landed in one go. “It was 2 months of pay, but at the end of it, it was like a third of a month,” he said, “because then they tax me all the tax that they hadn't done before.”
Holiday pay. As he described it, one month around June or July is paid as holiday pay, worked out from the previous year's earnings (he put it at about 10 to 12%). With no Norwegian earnings the year before, he got nothing that month. If you haven't budgeted for a month with no pay, he said, “you have to dig into your savings.”
The driving test. He could drive on his Australian licence for three months, but had to pass the Norwegian test within a year of taking up residency. Fail it, and starting from scratch costs “like 4 and a half to six grand”, in his words.
Add a car loan still running in Australia and monthly rather than weekly pay, and you get the picture: wages landing in one country, bills in two, and a few months where the numbers don't match the contract.
His advice for anyone weighing up a move: “If something's not right, ask questions. Try to find out who's been at the club before. See if you can talk to them.”
Our approach
How I'd think about a first overseas deal like this:
Before you fly, list what you'll pay in each country: rent, phone, car loan, money for family. Then you know what has to come home and what can stay put.
Ask the club how you'll be paid while your paperwork is sorted, and whether tax is coming out. If it isn't, it's worth knowing that a catch-up may follow.
Think about a cash buffer that could cover the first few months, in case pay arrives late, short or not at all in a holiday-pay month.
Use multi-currency accounts, so you can receive, hold, convert and pay at the best time, converting only what needs to be converted. Money for life in Norway can stay in kroner.
Get the right team around you early. Get two or three recommendations for each role, and don't be scared to ask questions and be curious until you've found the right people.
BEFORE YOU SIGN
The gap before the first pay
We've spoken to a large group of overseas athletes about what makes life away harder, and moving, housing and the first 90 days came up more than anything else, ahead of contracts. One player described “the in between period where you don't have any money coming in” while trying to find somewhere to live and get settled. Another named finding temporary accommodation before being under contract.
Cameron's story fits the pattern. His pay was held back, then arrived as about a third of a month, at the same time he was setting up a new life.
So before you go, it's worth asking a few questions, even ones that feel basic:
When does the first pay land, and in which account?
Who helps with accommodation for the first few weeks, and who pays for it?
What paperwork do I need before I can be paid, taxed and bank locally?
How much would I need to cover the first two or three months if the money is late?
The right people will be happy to explain. If you want to know what a contract is worth in Australian dollars, or how to plan around more than one currency, that's what I do. Book a 15-minute chat
General information, not legal, tax, financial or investment advice.
MONEY MOVES
A simple market update
The Reserve Bank raised the cash rate by 0.25 percentage points to 4.85% on Tuesday, Melbourne Cup Day. It was a split decision: six board members voted to raise and three to hold. The RBA said inflation remains elevated and broadly based. Against the Australian dollar, the euro set a new 12-month low on 27 October, so the euro gaps in the comparison below have widened since last week.
Christian Pulisic: a euro salary with a US dollar swing
About US$636,000 is the gap between the best and worst EUR/USD point of the last 12 months, on his reported €6.5m a season.
AC Milan have extended Pulisic to 2031. He is paid in euros, but his home base is the US, so what the salary is worth in US dollars is what counts. At the 12-month high for EUR/USD (1.2083), €6.5m is about US$7.85m. At the 12-month low (1.1105), it is about US$7.22m. Same salary, same contract, and a swing at the top end of town.
Salary: reported €6.5m base a season, per The Athletic via Sporting News. Italian outlets report €5m net, which Goal puts at about €6.5m gross. Reported bonuses of up to €10m are not included. Illustrative maths only, not a forecast or advice. Rates: TradingView FX_IDC, 3 November 2025 to 2 November 2026.
Coming up: euro area inflation figures on Wednesday 4 November, the Bank of England decision on Thursday 5 November, and the US jobs report on Friday 6 November.
Here is the same maths for four pairs. Each row shows a 500K contract in the first currency of the pair, and the gap between the best and worst point of the last 12 months, in the second currency:
Pair | Contract | 12-month high | 12-month low | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
USD/AUD | US$500k | 1.5573 | 1.3741 | A$91,600 |
GBP/AUD | £500k | 2.0474 | 1.8540 | A$96,700 |
EUR/AUD | €500k | 1.7978 | 1.5778 | A$110,000 |
EUR/USD | €500k | 1.2083 | 1.1105 | US$48,900 |
Illustrative maths only, not a forecast or advice. 12-month intraday highs and lows, 3 November 2025 to 2 November 2026, TradingView FX_IDC daily data.
FROM THE POD
Cameron Crestani: from NPL Queensland to Norway
Cameron's full story is Episode 13 of The Overseas Athlete: the Friday-night call, artificial pitches, a full-time job around football, and the midnight sun. The money and paperwork part starts at about 51 minutes. Watch Episode 13 on YouTube
The Athlete Newsletter is written by Chris Broadfoot, founder of SportsFX, the currency and payments partner for professional sport. If moving money between countries is part of your career, book a 15-minute chat with me below.
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