Bayern Overplays Its Hand
FC Bayern needs to lower its expectations when it comes to selling João Palhinha, according to recent reports. Initially, it was just a rumor that emerged regarding how and why Bayern’s sporting director Max Eberl attempted to secure more money from Tottenham Hotspur than the English club would ever pay for the Portuguese midfielder.
The Fall of Plan A
At the time, there wasn't much clarity on why exactly Eberl did not compromise. However, Sport1 reporters Johannes Vehren and Stefan Kumberger shed some light on the matter: Tottenham's executives were willing to sign Palhinha for a lower fee, but Bayern’s Max Eberl remained inflexible-ultimately leading to the deal's collapse.
Internal Priorities and External Criticisms
The 52-year-old Eberl is now in a difficult situation. Internally, selling Palhinha has been identified as the top priority, even before Bryan Zaragoza or Boey. After all, Bayern paid around €50 million for the midfielder two years ago and he's allegedly earning about €10 million annually.
This isn’t Eberl’s first stumble. He was heavily criticized following the transfer of Kingsley Coman to Saudi club Al-Nassr this summer, where a much lower fee than initially planned was offered by Tottenham. Therefore, Eberl is keen on not repeating the same mistake with Palhinha.
His strict stance in negotiations with Tottenham made it clear; however, his inflexibility might have been too rigid-resulting in a missed opportunity for substantial financial gain.
