How much a Lienhart farewell would hurt Freiburg

Quo vadis, Philipp Lienhart? The Freiburg central defender is apparently looking towards Spain.

IMAGO/Eibner

With 138 appearances and ten goals, Philipp Lienhart is an established Bundesliga professional who, in his sixth season in Freiburg, has continued to develop with his club, most recently also asserting himself in the Europa League. Ralf Rangnick also improved his standing in the ÖFB team (eleven appearances). The central defender played through both in the Nations League duel with France (0-2) in September 2022 and in the test against Italy (2-0) in November. The result: a coveted overall package.

It’s no wonder that those responsible for SC want to keep the top performer, who is in the center of defense alongside national player Matthias Ginter, and have long since presented him with a new contract offer. The sports club doesn’t have a bad chance either. Lienhart not only feels comfortable in a sporting sense with a relationship of trust with the coaching team around Christian Streich and with the sports directors Jochen Saier and Klemens Hartenbach as well as the great opportunity for further European Cup appearances. But also privately with his girlfriend, who works in Freiburg.

But is there another sportingly and economically attractive or more lucrative job for which it is worth giving up the good overall package in Freiburg? For Lienhart, now seems to be an ideal time for this legitimate question. The Austrian is 26, his contract, which was extended early in July 2019 and May 2021, only runs until the summer of 2024 and contains an exit clause in the double-digit million range. Of course, a club has to be willing to pay and offer the right perspective.

Lienhart has never made a secret of the fact that he would be tempted to return to Spain since his formative three years at Real Madrid Castilla, Los Blancos’ second-in-command. In 2014, when he was 18, he took the big step from Rapid Vienna to the world club’s youth academy, where Zinedine Zidane coached him, he got a taste of the pros and was even allowed to appear in the Copa del Rey.

In terms of profile, the 1.89-meter-tall right-footer with qualities in well-maintained play structure, header play and active and mostly fair defenders – in the league he saw yellow three times in 25 appearances – fits better in La Liga than in the Premier League. While Real themselves and Barcelona would probably still be a size too big, in Spain they would have to be clubs just behind the big two in the pecking order – like Atletico Madrid, Real Sociedad, Real Betis, Villarreal or Sevilla FC, despite that current crisis.

Without Real’s concessions, Lienhart would probably not have ended up in Freiburg

In any case, Lienhart’s advisor has joined the well-connected Spanish agency “You First”, which advises Spanish internationals Fabian Ruiz (PSG) and Gerard Moreno (Villarreal). But there is also interest from the Bundesliga.

Either way, a farewell to Lienhart would hurt the SC twice. First and foremost in terms of sport, but also economically. This is illustrated by kicker research on the transfer agreement between Real Madrid and the sports club, which initially signed Lienhart on loan in 2017 for a fee of 500,000 euros.

The change was preceded by a tough struggle with the royals, during which sports director Hartenbach sent a basic email about solidarity between big and small clubs and the importance of a player’s development opportunities to the royals. In the course of the permanent position announced in June 2018, Hartenbach then expressly thanked those responsible at Real for “a good exchange”.

Preparation for the 2016/17 season: Philipp Lienhart in the Real Madrid shirt.
imago/AFLOSPORT

The Madrilenians accommodated the SC, especially when it came to replacing the base. Originally, the sports club had a purchase option of four million euros, which it was able to halve through talks with Real. It was already clear back then that other usual components such as success-related add-ons and/or a share in any resale in favor of the releasing club were anchored in the transfer contract.

What do these considerations look like in concrete terms? The kicker now has detailed insights into the Lienhart files, which the FIFA Disciplinary Committee has also dealt with: According to this, Real Madrid would receive a fixed fee of two million euros if Lienhart were resold by SC to another club, almost as compensation for the former Discount, plus 30 percent of the total transfer fee.

A calculation example: Assume that Lienhart’s release clause is 16 million euros. Then two million plus 30 percent, i.e. a total of 6.8 million euros, went to Real, the SC “only” had 9.2 million euros left.

Due to this construct, Freiburg Lienhart would have to sell well below his current market value of around 20 million euros, but he also got the player quite cheaply or would not have been able to sign him without this agreement at the time. In addition, Real secured the right to draw level with an offer from a third club accepted by Freiburg and Lienhart within seven days and then be awarded the contract.

Hartenbach wants clarity by the end of April

It is understandable that Hartenbach already emphasized in March in a conversation with kicker that he wanted clarity from the Lienhart side by the end of April. But this has no pressure, the exit clause applies beyond that. The likelihood of reliable offers increases towards the summer, because squad planning is becoming more concrete everywhere.

However, there will be no change by hook or by crook, because Lienhart sees staying as a real and good option, but would like to keep the exchange door open for an offer that would enable him to take a special, perhaps unique career step.

The SC will probably have to worry about his valuable defender, who plays internally with open cards, for a little longer. Or reschedule and fill the position next to Ginter elsewhere – which would be just as legitimate.