Ronald Virkus doesn’t blame his rival for the fact that Leverkusen have signed Jonas Hofmann. Gladbach’s sporting director interfered with something else during the transfer.
New in Leverkusen after seven and a half years in Gladbach: Jonas Hofmann. IMAGO/Laci Perenyi
It sounds like a truism, but at Borussia Mönchengladbach those responsible felt compelled to make this announcement: “Before the season we said clearly: We want to have players who are completely committed to this club, who are proud to play for Borussia.” said sporting director Roland Virkus on Wednesday evening at the “Rheinische Bundesliga-summit” of the “Rheinische Post”.
That was true of Jonas Hofmann for years before he switched to Rhine rivals Bayer 04 Leverkusen this summer with an exit clause for ten million euros. Because they believed that they had “fulfilled all the conditions set by Jonas” with an offer to extend the contract, those responsible in Gladbach were not very enthusiastic about his decision.
Virkus: “We would have acted like Leverkusen”
“It depends on the way,” Virkus emphasized again. “Jonas agreed to us and canceled one day later.” The criticism was not explicitly directed at Hofmann’s new employer: “I wasn’t upset about Bayer Leverkusen. We would have acted the same way on the market as Bayer Leverkusen. Jonas had an exit clause, and then it’s part of the business that I do too Jonas is an excellent player with immense quality.”
Simon Rolfes, Virkus’ counterpart in Leverkusen and also part of the panel discussion, defended Hofmann because he had renewed his contract a year earlier. The anchored exit clause is “fair dealings between the player and the club and vice versa”, after all Gladbach was able to generate a “transfer value” in this way.
Hofmann, whom he wished “all the best and good luck”, believes Virkus can have a strong season with Leverkusen. “My colleague Simon Rolfes has done a great job, bought very well strategically and has a squad where I can say: If everything goes perfectly, this is a team that should be at least in the top four, and maybe even compete with Bayern.” Nevertheless, he added with a laugh: “I don’t want to put any pressure on, Simon!”
2023-08-10 09:25:16
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