You have my word: a gentleman’s handshake – does it stand?

In an ideal world, contractual agreements should be in writing; however, a contract doesn’t have to be in writing, and a verbal (or oral) agreement can amount to a contractual agreement.

The footballer Alexander Isak recently signed for Liverpool in what is reported to be the British transfer record. The season is now underway, and it is easy to forget the controversy that surrounded Mr Isak’s move from the North East to Merseyside over the summer.

In August 2025, Isak made a public accusation on social media against his former club. Within the statement, he alleged that his silence had allowed people to push their own version of events, even though they knew it didn’t reflect what was really said and agreed behind closed doors. He went on to allege that “when promises are broken, and trust is lost, the relationship can’t continue.”

In response, the club released their own statement saying that Alex was under contract and that “no commitment” had been given by a club official that he could leave the club over the summer.

It’s not clear what was or wasn’t agreed, but we now know that Alexander Isak signed for Liverpool.

Is an oral agreement legally binding?

The main question is whether an oral agreement made between two parties is legally binding. Well, it depends…

For any legal contract to be binding, the following factors must be present:

• An offer is made from one party to another;
• The offer is accepted by another party;
• There is consideration between parties, i.e. what is the value of the agreement; and
• There is an intention to create legal relations.

If all of these factors are established, then a legally binding contract may have been formed. For further information on the formation of contracts, please visit Contract Law – Forming a Contract, authored by Athene Broad and Hayley Evans of JMW Solicitors.

What is an oral agreement?

As you may appreciate, an oral agreement, sometimes referred to as a ‘gentleman’s agreement’, is inherently riskier than a written agreement, because there may not be any evidence of the agreement.  For example, an oral agreement is not referenced in writing and signed by all parties. You’ll note that Mr Isak didn’t produce a document outlining what was (or was not) agreed behind closed doors, signed by all parties!

There have been situations when a gentleman’s agreement exists in addition to written agreement such as in the case of VB Football Assets v Blackpool Football Club (Properties) Ltd (formerly Segesta Ltd) and others [2017], the Court was tasked with determining if the written contracts were the only legally binding agreements to be relied upon or was the Claimant’s informal understanding to be included.

The facts of the case were that VB Football Assets, which Mr Valeri Belokon owned, held a twenty percent shareholding in Blackpool Football Club Limited

In addition to three written agreements, there was a ‘gentleman’s agreement’ where VB Football Assets expected to receive a shareholding in Blackpool Football Club on par with the shareholding that Segesta held. The club was to be run jointly, in return for the £4.5 million that VB had paid. The issue at hand was that this separate oral agreement was not reflected fully in any written agreement. The court therefore had to decide if the three agreements in place were the entire agreement and if there was a gentleman’s agreement in place.

The Court found that the written contracts did not encompass the entire understanding between the parties, and it was clear that further points had been agreed orally between the parties. Therefore, the oral agreements were effective and should have been upheld. 

Comment

Gentlemen’s agreements don’t just exist in sport. We see oral agreements between companies and in the agricultural sector.  It is always sensible to reference the terms of any agreement in writing and have all parties sign that agreement. In circumstances where it isn’t possible to draft a written agreement, it may be sensible to reference anything that has been agreed orally in an email.

As you will see from my colleague Nathan Dean’s blog, a legally binding contract can be formed using informal modern forms of communication such as WhatsApp, even when there is no formal written contract.

The most difficult part of relying on any oral agreement is evidencing that there was an agreement at all. It’s therefore sensible to evidence any agreement in writing.