Bayern Munich midfielder Jamal Musiala is reportedly waiting for a release clause that could facilitate a future. exit from the club as talks on a new contract continue.
There is some uncertainty surrounding Musiala, having already entered the final 18 months of the five-year deal he signed in 2021 – agreed when he had not wished to celebrate his 18th birthday and was not even a full season away first-team football under his belt.
Now 21, the German is widely regarded as one of the best attacking players in Europe. But the lack of a new deal with Bayern is enough to worry fans of the Bundesliga giants, especially with links to clubs such as Manchester City continuing.
According to SportImageMusiala and Bayern have reached a satisfactory agreement on a new wage package – the player was not looking for a reward to make him the club's highest-paid star.
However, the two sides appear to remain at odds over other details, mainly a release clause. The suggestion is that Bayern are absolutely against the inclusion of any such concession, determined to keep control of the player's future and only sell if they wish. For this reason, no players in the current squad are believed to have release clauses included in their respective contracts.
Musiala's desire is said to be a release clause of €175m (£146m). It is not considered a deal breaker, but the player would consider it more important if he were to sign a five-year contract rather than four-year terms. The longer the proposed contract, the more “sensitive” the clause should be.
The asking price is a big one, but crucially it's not a prohibitive sum in the same way that the €1bn (£830m) release clauses have split Real Madrid and Barcelona, who are legally bound to include a buyout figure in any contract. they clearly are.
Manchester Citywho need a squad rebuild during the upcoming transfer windows to replace an aging squad, could trigger a €175 million release clause for a player like Musiala because he would be the heart of their team for the decade next. In that scenario Bayern would be excluded.
It would be a club-record transfer fee for City, but still significantly less than Neymar's world-record move from Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain in 2017 for €222m (£199m).
Musiala is no stranger to living and playing in England. Although born in Stuttgart, he lived briefly in Southampton and later in London between the ages of 7 and 16, even representing England at youth international level before switching allegiance to Germany.