Need Transfer Offers

[s0ni42]

Running Athletico Madrid and naturally have some major issues with my budget (primarily due to debt payments and high wages). I’m wrapping up first year and hoping to significantly reduce payroll during the summer.

 

Easy answer would be to move Griezmann and his crazy salary but would like to hold onto him one more year if able. I’m trying to get Godin, Gatian, and Vitolo and their combined $18m+ off my books in place of younger, cheaper options.

Godin and to lesser degree Vitolo have both gotten adequate pitch time, and performed well. I loaned Gatian to Valencia for year where he’s done ok. We are at the end of February and I cannot get any nibbles on any of trio. 

I have offered them out to teams and generated ManU interest for Godin, but no offers.

Maybe I’ll have more luck in offseason, but starting to get a little panicky. If I don’t move them, I’ll be forced to consider Griezmann as I don’t have very many other options to shed more salary. (FWIW, Griezmann has been awesome and really want to ride him next year with a younger squad)

Any tips or strategies to help me move them at seasons end.

[s0ni42]

Also, I’ve tried asking them to talk to teams.  All have refused

[sporadicsmiles]

Usually I have little issue moving players on, but sometimes you do, and it is usually in situations like yours; players who are not top level but earn very high wages. The problem here is that their wage demands are usually pretty high still (often they want a pay increase) and so the teams that can afford them are limited. Coupled to the fact that other teams may also want to do what you do - control the wage budget, sign younger players - it can be very tricky.

It seems you are as much interested in getting the players off the wage budget as getting large transfer fees for them, correct? In that case, I would just transfer list them, and accept any offer that is reasonable in price, and where they are likely to accept. You will certainly have more luck in the transfer window, I find that teams are much more active in those periods in general. I often have teams interested in players but they do not make bids until windows.

If you are also looking to get large fees for the players, then you could have more issues. Teams know you want rid of these players, especially if you have been offering them around. This will automatically reduce what you will get offered. It is something I see posted on here relatively frequently, people unable to sell unwanted players on high wages for their asking price (which is usually too high).

My advice here would be to identify the people you want to bring in to replace them (with a backup in case the deal does not go through). Work out how much that is likely to cost you (include sign on fees, and be generous in the estimation since I do not know if you can always well predict this). Once you have a rough idea of how much you are likely going to have to spend on replacements, you know roughly what kind of fees you need to receive. You can also factor in the expected transfer budget you have, if you know it. That way, you can offer reasonable prices that may tempt teams to bite on your players, and still be certain you will be able to get your replacements in. 

As a backup, I also suggest finding a couple of players you would bring in to replace Griezmann, just in case you have to sell him as a backup plan. The advantage here is that you will get a huge fee for him for sure, especially if you are not looking to sell (and it is not a contract year). In this case, you will have everything covered. 

As a general note, I find it really useful to shortlist every player I find interesting, and may want to sign in the future. That way, when situations like this come up, I can always have a good idea of what players I will bring in if I need. It also allows me to monitor bids from other clubs, just in case I miss something. 

Good luck!

[michaeltmurrayuk]

If you're only at the end of Feb then most teams won't have much money left for transfers nor know what they want next season, your best bet is to wait until the end of the season when the new transfer budgets are announced, then offer the players out or get the players to talk to clubs if they don't want to move.

Though how easy they are to shift will depend on the price you are asking, their wages, and what level they want to play at.

[s0ni42]

Thank you for quick responses. You are correct that I am not overly concerned with what I get out of transfer. I’ve managed to build a small coffer of $25m and don’t need to grab any high ticket guys in summer (addressed depth in January). It’s strictly a move on the wages.

 

Fortunately, I’ve planned for Griezmann’s eventual departure, but they are young guys that should require a little more development time to feel comfortable losing a world class talent.

 

sounds like I need to just focus on what’s in front of us for this year and revisit at seasons end.