Bad offer and angry coach: why Leverkusen refused to negotiate Alario with Palmeiras
4 min readWith more than 50% of its shares owned by a well-known pharmaceutical company, Bayer Leverkusen, of Germany, it has seen an attempt to Palm trees Striker Lucas Alario, 29, to be their main striker this season. Negotiations were officially excluded on Friday (14).
The German club has a strong financial structure and a policy of buying and selling players. Ferdau lacked the experience to know who to deal with, and he evaluated entrepreneurs who had already negotiated with athletes with German clubs he had heard bayonet!.
Over the weekend, sources from Palmeiras’ board of directors said the final offer was 1 million euros (about 6.3 million Brazilian reais) for the one-year Argentine loan, with an option to buy 8.5 million euros (about 53.7 million Brazilian reais).
It seems tempting for the athlete in reserve, having scored only one goal in 16 matches, but Leverkusen are not negotiating in the kind of models typical of South American clubs and even in other European markets, such as Italy. That’s why he found Palmeiras “shameless”, to say the least, in managing their negotiations.
The Germans’ goal has always been to recover at least a large portion of the €25 million (about R$158.29 million currently) they paid to River Plate, from Argentina, to acquire Alario in 2017. This has always been clear since the investigation into Argentina’s Verdau last year.
There was a lack of a broader analysis of Bayer, its position in the market, and how its investments and negotiations were carried out. In Germany as a whole, the loan is not used with a purchase option. The Germans have a strong economy, and they don’t need to risk hiring or getting rid of low-income athletes – he appraised an agent who helped sell Flamengo players to the European country.
Another common practice in the South American market that has caused a revolution among the Germans, especially in Swiss coach Gerardo Siwan, is the fact that Palmeiras agreed contractual rules with Alario before speaking to Leverkusen.
This type of situation varies by club or coach. But in the case of Leverkusen, it will be enough to look at these statistics sites to understand the situation – says this businessman.
He points to the fact that the Germans have only Alario as an option set up as a reserve for Czech star Patrik Schick, who has scored 18 goals in 20 games this season. There are two other players for this position, both under the age of 18. Because of this, Leverkusen had already refused to have Betis, from Spain, on loan at the start of the European season.
And the fact that Verdau tried to advance himself to convince Alario to be his number 9 before getting the Germans’ approval, took a bad turn with the coach, even as Leverkusen’s board of directors rejected the deal, reiterated his rebuttal. According to the local press…
It’s not that German clubs don’t trade on loan. But this practice is common only when transfers are agreed with markets with greater financial strength, such as Borussia Dortmund’s recent agreement with Real Madrid, of Spain, to be the attacking midfielder Rainer, the former Flamengo player, this season.
Or, as in the case of Leverkusen, who have four players on loan this season, players with very low market value and contracts on the verge of expiring. Even in reserve and at a low level, Alario renewed with the club until 2024.
– These are alternatives that the Germans see as a form of testing. But it is always local to its European market, never with South America, but more so for production. In this case, you have to pay definitively – indicated another businessman who heard the report, who did not want to be identified because he had players in the Palmeirns team.
To understand this logistics, it is enough for Palmeiras to carefully consider the recent influence negotiations between Brazilian and German clubs, specifically between two contenders.
The biggest of all is the portrait of Peruvian Paolo Guerrero. The striker, who has passed through giants Bayern Munich, was tipped against Hamburg when Corinthians showed their interest. To make it target the 2012 Club World Cup, he had to pay €3 million (about R$7.5 million at the time).
Five years later, the amount required for Santos to bring back current Flamengo player Bruno Henrique from Wolfsburg rose: 4 million euros (about 13.5 million Brazilian reals at the time).
However, neither of them has the financial health of Frukusen. As much as Hamburg has one of the biggest fans in Germany, it skated with poor management and ended up going down. Wolfsburg lost the contribution of a well-known automaker and significantly reduced expenses.
Leverkusen’s strength comes precisely from its financial strength, created through a network of scouts who search for talents like Alario and then resell them on the Old Continent. The club has doors open to all giants.
This is how he, for example, cemented a potential rival to Verdau at the World Cup: midfielder Kai Havertz, 22, was sold for €80 million (about R$505.1 million) in 2020 to Chelsea. It was the same with Brazilians such as team and midfielder Ze Roberto, who played for Palmeiras, and defenders Lucio, the five-time world champion, and Juan, the former Flamengo. All resale at a much higher value later.
And this is how the German club hopes to be with Alario and Brazilian Paulinho, who were bought from Vasco for 18.5 million euros (about 116.8 million Brazilian riyals now) in 2018 and who, like the Argentine, turned down their offers. On loan from Spanish clubs at the beginning of the season.
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