‘Insane’ – Bayern Munich Legend Drops Verdict On Newcastle New Boy Not Being Signed | OneFootball

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Michael Ballack has insisted Bayern Munich were never going to pay the fee for Nick Woltemade that Newcastle United forked out to take him to Tyneside, amid Premier League sides splashing ‘insane’ amounts.

Newcastle scrambled for a couple of months when Alexander Isak declared that he did not want to play for them to facilitate a move to Premier League giants Liverpool.

The move did not go through until deadline day and after a handful of rejections from multiple forwards who chose to go to other clubs, Newcastle paid a club-record fee of close to €80m to secure Stuttgart’s Woltemade.

Woltemade was a key target for Bayern Munich and they were hoping to be able to sign him from Stuttgart before the window closed, though were unhappy with his asking price.

Ballack insisted that the Bavarians were ready to pay close to €100m for Florian Wirtz, who joined Liverpool, showing they are prepared to splash out.

However, he stressed that the case was different for Woltemade, as he believes that Bayern Munich did not consider the Germany international as a player worth more than €55m, while Newcastle splashed a massive package to secure his signature.

Ballack also insisted English sides do pay insane fees.

“Of course, English clubs pay insane amounts”, Ballack told German daily Bild, addressing the big money deals for Wirtz and Woltemade.

“But even for Wirtz, Bayern were prepared to put together a package worth up to €100m.

“And as for Nick Woltemade: That’s a different case. Bayern has a financial budget.

“The club has excelled for decades by staying out of debt and growing big.

“That’s why I understand why Bayern decided not to pay more than €55m for Woltemade because the player wasn’t worth more to them.”

The 23-year-old started Germany’s both World Cup qualifying games during the international break and provided one assist for his national team in the process.

He will look to get a start at the weekend for Newcastle against Wolves at St. James’ Park to help the Magpies register their first league game victory of the campaign.