“It wasn’t a bad deal” – Icon defends himself over Newcastle transfer, got the price spot on
German legend Lothar Matthaus has defended himself over Nick Woltemade’s move to Newcastle United this summer.
BILD have an interview with the German icon today. He was specifically asked about Woltemade, after criticism from Bayern Munich.
Woltemade predicted in the summer that Woltemade would be moving for a huge price if he left Stuttgart this year. He quoted the fee at €80-100m.
That was at a time when he looked destined to join Bayern Munich. The German champions had been chasing him for a while as a long-term replacement for Harry Kane. They, though, refused to pay Stuttgart’s asking fee, regularly low-balling the Bundesliga side.
A deal never ended up happening because Newcastle swooped in for the striker instead. They paid €75m for the striker. That deal includes various clauses to drive that price higher, though.
Bayern have since been vocal about the matter, insisting it was too much, and they’d never have paid such a figure. There’s also been criticism of Matthaus, who they believe drove the striker’s price up. He’s having none of that, though, insisting he actually got it spot on about the Newcastle signing.
One of the players who’s really scoring right now, four times in six Premier League games already. That’s Nick Woldemar. There was a lot of discussion before the season started about his transfer. You estimated his price at 75 or 70 million. And that’s exactly the price he went for. At Bayern Munich, they were a bit critical, saying you were the one who drove up his price. Seeing his performance now, what do you say to that?
“Well, first of all, I’m happy for Woltemade that he’s arrived in the Premier League, arrived so quickly,” he said.
“If you ask me again, I didn’t say €75m, I said the transfer fee is between €80m and €100m. €85 m to €90m, so yes, it wasn’t a bad deal. But I know what I was getting at, but that’s just the market for me, and I don’t need to explain again which factors all play a role.
“Age, contract length, and above all, demand. And I don’t set the prices, nor does FC Bayern alone.
“FC Bayern also has, I believe, a total of €70m or €75m in their contract with Diaz, meaning they have to pay for something like that. So, these sums aren’t just pulled out of thin air; it’s simply a fair market price, in my opinion.”
