If there’s one transfer we never saw coming during the transfer window, it was Maxime Choupo-Moting moving from Stoke to Paris Saint-Germain.
After all, the Cameroon international isn’t the type of name you would normally associate with the Ligue 1 champions, who are a team desperate for Champions League glory, known for recruiting players for €200m+.
However, on transfer deadline day in France, the 29-year-old left bet365 Stadium on a free transfer and put pen to paper on a two-year contract to play back up to Edinson Cavani.
According to French journalist Romain Molina on his YouTube channel, while Thomas Tuchel gave the transfer the green light, the thought process behind the scenes is purely a financial one.
He explained: “The player had refused an offer from Huddersfield before arriving at Paris. A club works with people they trust, and in this deal, it’s Roger Wittmann, from Rogon, who was behind it. He’s Tuchel’s mate, and he gets along well with Antero Henrique. He’s also Draxler’s agent and Timo Kehrer’s, so he’s well engrained in Paris.
“For Choupo, it was mostly financial. They’ve already talked about selling him. It’s only for the money for Paris. The player will play one year, will do his job and what Tuchel asks, and then, next summer, they’ll ask their network to work on it, in China especially. The player will have the PSG label, and will be completely revalued. It could end up happening for €10m.”
So, all in all, if this is all true, it was a purely Financial Fair Play driven transfer, which also alleviates the workload on Edinson Cavani, allowing the Uruguay international a rest from time to time, perhaps in some of the easier games, or if Paris Saint-Germain are already qualified from the Champions League group stages.
Stoke City, however, get very little out of it, except taking Choupo-Moting’s salary off their wage bill.
