Niklas Sule will complete a move from Bayern Munich to Borussia Dortmund on a free transfer come the summer, the Black and Yellow confirmed on Monday afternoon.
It brings to an end a five-year association with Bayern, which featured one Champions League title and four German top-flight titles across 159 appearances. The German becomes the second high-profile defender to leave in as many summers, following David Alaba joining Real Madrid on a free last summer.
Borussia Dortmund has signed Niklas Süle for the 2022/23 season ✍️ pic.twitter.com/WC7EeffRXj
— Borussia Dortmund (@BlackYellow) February 7, 2022
The tall German defender was linked with a move to Chelsea ahead of his inter-Germany switch, with the Blues set to lose three defenders of their own for nothing, in the shape of Antonio Rudiger, Andreas Christensen and Cesar Azpilicueta.
And now, it seems as though money motives may have stopped the move as an astonishing piece of information has come to light.
Sule demanding double from foreign clubs
According to transfer site transfermarkt, Niklas Sule was demanding twice his Dortmund salary from other foreign clubs.
The German was reportedly asking for 15 million euros per year from Chelsea and Newcastle, both of whom were thought to be interested.
This equates to around £240,000 per week, far more than Chelsea have even offered Rudiger at this stage, perhaps revealing a key reason why talks were undertaken but a deal was never close.
Source! Niklas Süle asked for up to €15m a year from foreign clubs. His salary at #BVB is much lower, however. Süle earns €8m base + €2m in bonuses per season in Dortmund. That’s up to €40m until 2026. @Transfermarkt
— Manuel Veth (@ManuelVeth) February 8, 2022
At Dortmund, meanwhile, Sule has settled for a measly 8 million euros a year, working out at around £120,000 per week. Clearly, staying in Germany was the ultimate priority for the defender.
