Record transfer!

Augsburg snatches away Bayern's storm jewel - did Munich still have a hand in the game?

Created: 01/03/2022Updated: 01/03/2022, 05:54 AM

From: Christoph Klaucke

FC Augsburg snatched away the storm jewel Ricardo Pepi from Bayern.

© Robin Alam / Imago

FC Augsburg may have outperformed FC Bayern on the transfer market.

The 18-year-old storm jewel Ricardo Pepi is moving to FCA for a record transfer fee.

Augsburg / Munich - FC Augsburg * starts the new year with a transfer cracker!

US storm jewel Ricardo Pepi apparently changes for 13 million euros from FC Dallas to Fuggerstadt - an absolute record purchase at FCA.

According to several media reports, the transfer is in the towel, the sum could even increase through bonus payments.

With that, the FCA snatches away a hot transfer promise from the Bundesliga competition.

FC Bayern is also said to have been interested in the 18-year-old, VfL Wolfsburg was recently the favorite in courting Pepi.

Half of Europe, including Real Madrid, hunted the attacker.

Nevertheless, the US international could still take the route to Munich in the future.

Ricardo Pepi: Augsburg snatches away FC Bayern's storm jewel

13 million euros for an 18-year-old ?! How can FC Augsburg afford this investment in view of the corona pandemic, quite a few observers are likely to ask themselves. In the past ten years, the FCA has done well,

according to

the

, more than 55 million euros of equity were

built up. Despite the pandemic, Augsburg only made a mini-minus of 774,000 euros in the 2020/21 season.

The often tough austerity course is now paying off: Augsburg can back up in the relegation battle and strengthen the weak attack.

17 goals in as many games were unsatisfactory.

Florian Niederlechner is the top scorer with three goals.

The FCA is only one point ahead of relegation relegation rank in 15th place in the Bundesliga.

That top talent Pepi is now joining Augsburg is still a bit surprising.

It cannot be ruled out that FC Bayern has a hand in the game.

FC Bayern: Will Pepi end up in Munich via Augsburg?

FC Bayern could be involved in the Pepi transfer and take over part of the transfer fee. In return, the German record champions may secure a kind of right of first refusal. Bayern used such an approach in 2016 with Serge Gnabry, when he moved from Arsenal to Werder Bremen and came to Säbener Straße via the Hoffenheim station two years later.

In February, Pepi completed a trial training session on Säbener Strasse in Munich.

FC Dallas is a cooperation partner of Bayern.

Pepi is said to have made an impression at the time, but he was not committed.

In 31 games in Major League Soccer (MLS), the teenager scored 13 goals this season and prepared two more goals.

In addition, the young center forward scored three goals in seven international matches for the USA.

Of the US team's six goals in World Cup qualification so far, Pepi was involved in five.

Ricardo Pepi: FC Augsburg make a new record transfer

In Augsburg, Pepi can now develop calmly and make the step from the MLS to a top European league. According to the

, the good contacts of US entrepreneur David Blitzer, who with his company "Bolt Football Holdings" had taken over 45 percent of the shares in the FCA, also

helped the Fuggerstadt residents with the commitment

. In addition, President Klaus Hofmann is very well networked in the USA: He is the CEO of the fire protection company Minimax, which has several headquarters in the USA.

In addition, US national coach Gregg Berhalter is an old friend of Augsburg manager Stefan Reuter and Christoph Janker, Augsburg's head of the licensed players department.

They know each other from days together at 1860 Munich and were able to convince Berhalter that Augsburg is the right club for Pepi's development.

The Bayern bosses may also have been convinced of this idea.