Release date: Saturday, August 22, 2020 7:40 a.m.
Even in those unprecedented times, some things remain the same. The coronavirus pandemic would probably have invaded the world and forced us to adapt to a new normal, but there are still constants that remind us of the smart old days.
The sky is blue, the sun is still shining and Red Bull Salzburg remains the Bundesliga champion of Austria.
The 2019/20 season ended in exclusive circumstances, however, nothing exclusive about the fate of the trophy, which travelled to Salzburg for the seventh consecutive year and eleventh in the last thirteen editions.
This is the kind of national domination enjoyed by Juventus, Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain, who, like Salzburg, are only able to dominate their rivals on the field, but also economically.
However, while Red Bull’s wealth allowed Salzburg the luxury of losing trading in the moving market in the first years after the 2006 acquisition, its patience and long-term strategy paid off.
During the more than thirteen seasons, Salzburg has made a collective profit of almost two hundred million euros by buying and promoting players. Surprisingly, in the first 8 years it recorded a loss of around 46 million euros, meaning that in the last five years alone, the club has reaped more than 245 million euros in play profits.
Naby Keita, Sadio Mane and Erling Haaland are the top 3 notable examples, while Duje Caleta-Car, Amadou Haidara, Munas Dabbur and Xaver Schlager are among many others who have arrived in Salzburg profitably and sold for great profits.
It should also be noted that so far, 19 players have moved from Salzburg to Red Bull RB Leipzig’s partner in the German Bundesliga. It has a transparent and lucrative trail for the Austrian club.
While Salzburg has followed Red Bull’s motto ‘give wings’ to fly to the Bundesliga, it has also taken into account the indirect recommendation of its official Bet-At-Home betting spouse and has demonstrated how to safely play in the moving market. As some other Salzburg sponsor, Mastercard, might suggest: it has proven to be an “invaluable” strategy.
This strategy is expected to pay off this summer, with the much-loved midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai attracting the interest of some of the most important clubs in Europe.
Napoli, AC Milan, PSG and Arsenal are reportedly seeking the signature of the 19-year-old Hungarian, with a moving payment estimated at around 25 million euros of their termination clause. Szoboszlai arrived in Salzburg from the liefering club in 2017 with a loose move, marking another great deal.
Szoboszlai has attracted the attention of potential contenders this season with 12 goals and 18 assists in 40 games in all competitions. His coach of the national team, italian Marco Rossi, described the game creator as “a very sublime and talented player, in technique” and believes he would fit well into an Italian Serie A club, adding that “Dominik would be the ideal player. The taste of the game [of Napoli]”.
Meanwhile, Arsenal is reportedly looking for a new central midfielder and has learned that Szoboszlai has a priority goal to upgrade Matteo Guendouzi, who is heading for the Emirates exit.
Then there’s AC Milan, who names Ralf Rangnick as new coach and manager before next season. Rangnick spent time in Salzburg as sporting director and his goal would be to use his close ties to his former club to give him the lead in the race to point to Szoboszlai.
Wherever the Hungarian teenager ends, it will not only be a shrewd business for Salzburg as a seller, but also for the shopping club.
Keita, sold via Salzburg to Leipzig for 29.75 million euros in 2016, moved to Liverpool for 60 million euros two years later. Mane left the Austrian club in Southampton for 23 million euros in 2014 and sold for double, also in Liverpool, in 2016.
Haaland, for his part, left Salzburg for Dortmund in January for 20 million euros and if the Norwegian striker were sold, with a little luck we can assume that it will be more than five times that amount.
Szoboszlai turns out to be the next budding star to use Salzburg as a launch pad, and one thing is certain: just as there were players before him, there will be others to stick to in the coming years.
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