Liverpool, Man City’s €55M-Rated Target’s Likely Reason for Avoiding PSG Return, Leading to Transfer | OneFootball

Paris Saint-Germain initially took a short-term approach by loaning Xavi Simons to RB Leipzig for another season, but his future is now settled, with the German club securing him permanently.

In September, Christian Falk reported that Manchester City and Liverpool were closely monitoring Simons’ situation. Early last summer, Bayern Munich, Barcelona, and Manchester United had also expressed interest, highlighting the Dutch midfielder’s rising status among Europe’s top clubs.

More recently, CaughtOffside suggested that Manchester United could have a strong chance of outpacing Manchester City in the race to sign Simons next summer.

Why didn’t Xavi Simons want to play at PSG?

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Last week, transfer expert Fabrizio Romano reported that Simons has officially joined RB Leipzig on a permanent transfer from PSG. The deal is worth a total of €80 million, including add-ons, with an initial fee of €55 million and a sell-on clause.

Romano also noted that Simons’ contract runs until June 2027, but he could be on the move as early as this summer, with several clubs already keeping an eye on him.

On the latest PSG Talking podcast, Football Transfer’s Robin Bairner spoke about the reason why Simons didn’t want to return to the capital club despite the youth movement going on under manager Luis Enrique.

“Entirely logical—it adds up,” Bairner said. “Obviously, Simons has been a star almost anywhere he’s started. We’ve seen him play a starring role in the Netherlands and then go to Leipzig and do the same. I think returning to PSG would probably be a very difficult transition for him. Over the last four, five, six months, we’ve seen how much Luis Enrique loves to rotate his team, bringing players in and taking them out.

“I can see why Simons wouldn’t necessarily fancy fitting into that framework. He seems very confident in his abilities and wants to be playing, which is understandable. It would be difficult to go from being a star to just another player. Some players simply don’t thrive as squad players or as those who come in and out of the team. Certain players need to be the star.

“From a PSG perspective, Hatem Ben Arfa comes to mind—he needed to feel like the main man. That was never going to happen at PSG, and he became unsettled, leading to all the ensuing drama. In a way, Xavi Simons has potentially done PSG a favor by saying, ‘No, I don’t want that. Just send me to Leipzig.'”