João Palhinha has been left angered by Bayern Munich’s refusal to lower their demands this summer. He believes it would have made a deal with Tottenham Hotspur possible.
BILD cover the situation today and comments from journalists Christian Falk and Heiko Niedderer from the Bayern Insider podcast.
Tottenham refuse €30m
The newspaper explains that João Palhinha finds himself in a difficult situation this summer after returning to Bayern from a loan spell at Tottenham.
Bayern consider the 31-year-old one of the biggest miscalculations in their recent history. Their decision to pay a fee of nearly €50m for him has not paid off.
Both sides had hoped for a permanent move to Tottenham this summer. But according to Falk, Spurs didn’t want to pay the agreed fee.
“In terms of raw numbers, it’s a nosedive,” he said.
“He joined FC Bayern for €50m; now he’s worth only €15m, and Bayern can’t get rid of him. €30m Tottenham didn’t want to pay the agreed upon in the clause; he wasn’t worth that much to them.”
Palhinha frustrated
That has led to great frustration for the Portuguese midfielder, who Niedderer says proved himself during his time at Spurs last season.
“He doesn’t fit Kompany’s setup; he isn’t a midfield virtuoso capable of playing brilliant, incisive passes,” he added.
“He’s an athletic fighter. He demonstrated that at Tottenham during the second half of the season, where he was absolutely vital.
“He fought relentlessly, and he fits perfectly into that kind of English team. At Bayern, it just didn’t work out.”
Bayern and Palhinha stance
Now, the big problem is that neither side are happy. Bayern failed to complete the deal, and Palhinha missed out on the move he wanted. That’s led to a hardening of stances from both parties.
Palhinha feels particularly aggrieved by the process. He cannot understand why Bayern would not simply reduce their demands.
“Palhinha doesn’t feel Bayern have treated him entirely fairly,” explained Niedderer.
“His view is that Tottenham wanted to keep him, so why wouldn’t Bayern budge on the price? That probably would have been the best outcome for everyone involved.
“Positions have hardened. Eberl says, ‘You have no future here,’ while Palhinha says, ‘Maybe I’ll just stay.’ There’s a lot of money at stake,” concluded Falk.
“Palhinha wants to leave. He’s not exactly thrilled about the situation either. But by saying, ‘Fine, I’ll just stay,’ he’s creating a standoff: ‘I can stay here, meaning you have to keep paying my wages and won’t get a transfer fee at all.'”
