Nick Woltemade moved from Stuttgart to England in the summer for a fee of 75 million euros. FC Bayern actually wanted to buy, but that didn’t work. Now the national striker is looking back at the transfer poker.
Success in football helped national player Nick Woltemade increase his self-confidence in his youth. “I knew I was still the cool one, even if I had a few pimples and thin legs,” said the 23-year-old in an interview with “Zeit”.
The Premier League professional still fondly remembers his time as a youth player in Bremen. “I get goosebumps thinking about it,” he explained. “It was wonderful. Probably also because we usually beat the others by a lot and I was often the best.”
His family was also a great support. “My parents have only ever strengthened me,” he said. “They even let me win at the Uno.”
“I can’t do anything for this amount of money”
In the summer, the striker from VfB Stuttgart moved to Champions League participant Newcastle United for a transfer fee of 75 million euros after a long transfer poker. The city reminds him of home. “I like the vibe, it reminds me of Bremen,” he said.
But he doesn’t want to be influenced in the long term by the high transfer fee. “Of course it’s surreal,” says Woltemade. “But I can’t do anything for that amount of money. That’s the way the market is. I’m trying to cope with the pressure and entertain people.”
Subscribe to WELTMeister Spotify, Apple Podcasts or directly via RSS-Feed.
There had been public debates for weeks before his departure from VfB Stuttgart. Record champions FC Bayern initially wanted to buy Woltemade, but did not want to pay the sum demanded by the Swabians. “The drama was no longer about me,” said the center forward, looking back. “It’s just a matter of egos on all sides.”
After Woltemade’s move to Newcastle, Bayern supervisory board member Karl-Heinz Rummenigge ironically declared that Stuttgart had now found an “idiot” who would pay so much money.
jb with dpa
