Correspondent Lee Eui-jin = While German professional soccer Mainz acknowledged their interest in Cho Kyu-seong (25, Jeonbuk), they were reluctant to pay a transfer fee of over 4 billion won.
Mainz’s general manager Christian Heidel said in an interview with the local sports media Kicker on the 11th (Korean time), “We like Cho Kyu-sung. So we inquired.”
Celtic (Scotland) and Mainz jumped in before signing Cho Kyu-seong, a striker who played an active part in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
On the 8th, British Sky Sports reported that Celtic offered 3 million pounds (approximately 4.5 billion won) for Cho Kyu-sung’s transfer fee.
Kicker also confirmed, “As the news spread in England, Mainz was also offered to pay an amount far exceeding 3 million euros (about 4 billion won) for the transfer fee.”
In response, Heidel general manager drew the line, “If the transfer fee for Cho Kyu-sung goes up to that level, Mainz will not care anymore.”
It is interpreted that he expressed his intention that it would be difficult to continue the recruitment war if the transfer fee exceeds the upper limit of about 4 billion won set in advance.
In fact, on the 7th, British media Evening Standard, which predicted that Mainz would be the winner of the recruitment match, mentioned that the K League 1 Jeonbuk Hyundai could accept a transfer fee of 2.5 million pounds (approximately 3.8 billion won). 토토
However, right after Celtic called for a high amount, Mainz seemed to feel a financial burden.
The kicker also pointed out, “Cho Kyu-seong may be the player Mainz is looking for, but he is not in a situation that he can afford financially.”
Mainz is a team where Cho Kyu-sung and Lee Jae-seong (31), who participated in the World Cup in Qatar, belong to the national team.
Mainz, currently 10th in the Bundesliga (19 points), are looking to strengthen their offense in the winter transfer market as they have only scored 19 goals in 15 league games this season.
According to Sky Sports, Celtic’s rival club Rangers and MLS’s Minnesota United have also expressed interest in Cho Kyu-sung.
However, the media added, “It is understood that the Rangers have not handed over an official offer.”
Cho Kyu-seong, who showed an impressive performance by scoring two goals at the Qatar World Cup, has greatly increased his ransom compared to before the tournament.
According to Transfermarkt, an Internet media specializing in European soccer, the estimated transfer fee in November last year before the World Cup was 1.4 million euros (about 1.9 billion won), but in December after the World Cup, it rose to 2.5 million euros (about 3.3 billion won).
This was the highest estimate of the transfer fee among K-League players, but the actual amount seems to be higher than this due to the recent recruitment competition.