Eberl reveals: This player was his Upamecano alternative | OneFootball

The extension of Dayot Upamecano’s contract caused a lot of discussion at FC Bayern. Now Max Eberl reveals which player he presented internally as an alternative

Dayot Upamecano’s contract extension at FC Bayern was expensive – and was discussed critically. Sporting director Max Eberl is now once again backing the deal and making it clear what considerations were behind the decision

The 52-year-old explained that the comparison with the transfer market in particular played a decisive role: „I did that with the young Jeremy Jaqucet in the course of the extension with Dayot Upamecano. He costs 70 million euros after 19 Ligue 1 games. That’s the other way,“ Eberl told tz

The 20-year-old central defender was ultimately signed by Liverpool FC and will join the Reds from Stade Rennes in the summer

Alternative would have been expensive

Eberl makes it clear that not signing Upamecano would not automatically have meant a cheaper solution. On the contrary: „But then we have to be clear that we have to buy another player – if we want to keep the quality, who might cost 50, 60 or 70 million euros.“

Such a transfer would have been associated with additional risks: „Knowing full well that the player may only be 19 or 20 years old and not yet at the top European level.“

The message is clear: extending an established top player can be expensive – but a replacement on the transfer market is often even more costly and uncertain

Eberl explains the decision-making process

At the same time, the Bayern boss gave an insight into the internal processes involved in such decisions: „It’s always about: How much pain am I prepared to put on the table for my supervisory board or Jan-Christian Dreesen as CEO and say: I would still do it for this?“

photo: IMAGO

Eberl emphasizes that this is not about power struggles within the club: „If it’s a case of Eberl versus the supervisory board or Dreesen versus Eberl – that has nothing to do with ‚versus‘.“

Rather, it is about a joint decision-making process. „I do my part, which is expected of me, and then you have to tell me whether you agree – or not.“