Eberl breaks silence on Bayern’s pursuit of Woltemade | OneFootball

Since it was first reported on Thursday that Bayern Munich have agreed personal terms with VfB Stuttgart’s Nick Woltemade, things have escalated quite a bit.

Stuttgart were quick to make it clear they have no intention of selling their star striker, with reports suggesting the Swabians are demanding a fee of up to a staggering €100 million to let him go.

At the same time, Bayern supervisory board member Uli Hoeneß and club legend Lothar Matthäus are locked in a public dispute.

Matthäus mentioned €80-100 million as a possible price tag for Woltemade, which caused frustration for Hoeneß, who felt the comment only served to drive up the player’s value.

Speaking after Bayern's 4-2 Club World Cup last-16 win over Flamengo, board member for sport Max Eberl expressed his irritation with the way the situation has developed since Bayern’s interest in Woltemade was leaked.

“Nowadays you can’t really develop ideas in peace and try to negotiate calmly. Opinions get formed. It leaks out. That’s the first thing. Then opinions get formed, and everyone has something to say about it. When you’re negotiating, it’s always difficult to find a good solution if the talks are conducted in public. When negotiations happen in the public eye, it usually doesn’t lead to a good result,” Eberl told reporters.

He added that “the whole world knows” that Bayern are trying to sign Woltemade.

“That’s no longer a secret. But what will come of it, I can’t say. At the moment, there’s a lot going on around us without there ever having been any real conversation with VfB Stuttgart. Now we have to see how these positions - which everyone leaks unofficially to the public - can be brought together. If not, then it’s really, really unfortunate right from the start. Then it probably won’t work out. But we’ll have to see how it goes now.”

Asked about Woltemade’s staggering price tag, Eberl responded:

“Counter question: Is Nick Woltemade worth €80 million? Please answer.

"We’ll just see what’s possible and feasible, without letting ourselves get carried away.

“Our intention was actually to handle this calmly. That’s already gone out the window. So right now, I don’t want to set any other expectations. I think it’s been communicated very openly, and now we’ll talk and see if we can reach an agreement. How long that will take - I can’t say.”