US Seagull
Well-known member
Wonder if it's a mistranslation from German? Otherwise I really don't see how it would benefit anybody to have such a clause.
[Albion] Deluded Leeds (an EFL club) fans
- Thread starter vagabond
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Does sound like an auto-translate cock-up for sure.
southstandandy
WEST STAND ANDY
- Jul 9, 2003
- 6,044
He was always a bit of a cock anyway.Do you remember when they failed to 'free Ben White' and their fans argued that they had landed on their feet because, instead of paying a record fee for him, they signed a German international centre half for only €13m?
Leeds United player set to leave for free - Relegation release clause sees transfer without fee - Sport Witness
Germany’s Bild are reporting Robin Koch can leave Leeds United as a free agent this summer, thanks to a release clause in his contract. According to the German claims, the defender’s camp negotiated a clause which means he won’t be kept to the final year of his contract and have to appear in the...sportwitness.co.uk
Leeds are denying the reports, which seem to have come from Bild, that say that he can leave for nothing, but they don't seem to have offered comment on the report that his deal bans him from playing in the Championship. This would be a very strange clause for them to have agreed to. If he's not allowed to play for them now they are relegated, his sell on value would obviously be significantly impacted, which may have been the inference made by the Bild journalist. Even if there is nothing in the contract that says he can leave for free, if there is something saying he can't play in their league, if he stays, they will be paying him the last year of his wages whilst he does nothing, presumably meaning that they'd be fairly desperate to move him on, even if nobody was prepared to offer a fee.
- Aug 24, 2020
- 7,081
You could be right.
Mind you, this is Leeds we're talking about. They obviously would have been aware of the clause when they signed Koch, but I do wonder if they thought 'Well relegation isn't going to happen, so the clause will never be invoked. Sign him up'.
Stato
Well-known member
- Dec 21, 2011
- 7,365
It's quite explicit to be a mistranslation:
"But if that isn't enough to ensure his exit, Bild understands his deal also contains a stipulation that he is not allowed to play in the Championship."
If it had not been stated so clearly and in addition to the free transfer element of the story, I could believe that the Sun/Scottish Sun had perhaps mistranslated the Bild report into English. A mistranslation of the contract terms on Bild's part seems unlikely. A deduction of the implications of a clause would be more believable. Any inside information that prompted the story would most likely have emanated from the player's agency, which is German, so any leak was probably in German.
I suspect that someone acting for his agent has leaked news of his contractual situation to help prompt a quick exit. My guess is that the 'available for free' report is an extrapolation from the contract clause intended to publicise his availablity. You can guarantee that the news will have alerted any interested parties to the point where they will be contacting his agent to seek absolute clarity. Leeds have indicated that the hope to get between £7 & £10 million. I'm guessing that they'll be letting him go for far less, but that the figure will be undisclosed.
Frankworthington
Well-known member
Robin Koch apparently in talks with Manure! £13 M signing can leave for nothing.
Jordan, McQueen, Ferdinand, Alan Smith and now Robin.
Leeds fans in meltdown. Please let this be true!
Jordan, McQueen, Ferdinand, Alan Smith and now Robin.
Leeds fans in meltdown. Please let this be true!
Greg Bobkin
Silver Seagull
- May 22, 2012
- 16,024
Who have Leeds got in their first game of the PL season?
Oh...
Oh...
brighton_tom
Well-known member
- Jul 23, 2008
- 5,511
If this thing about him being able to leave for free is true, then its either a huge dose of arrogance from whoever at Leeds agreed to that clause in the contract assuming they wouldnt get relegated, or its complete incompetence. Probably both. After being relegated, now at a time when money is paramount they have to give a £13m investment away for free! Surely if when trying to sign him that was a contract term suggested by his agent you would just say no!?
Muzzman
Pocket Rocket
Finding this quite funny at the moment...
the BBC have the new Premier League table up, but haven't updated the Championship table. So effectively, today, Leeds don't exist.
the BBC have the new Premier League table up, but haven't updated the Championship table. So effectively, today, Leeds don't exist.
Joey Jo Jo Jr. Shabadoo
I believe in Joe Hendry
- Oct 4, 2003
- 12,054
I can’t believe you missed that open goal.
Nobby Cybergoat
Well-known member
- Jul 19, 2021
- 8,622
Why on earth would they want him?
Loving that Leeds fans are in meltdown though. I'm loving all of this.
Stato
Well-known member
- Dec 21, 2011
- 7,365
Or they could have been desperate enough to agree to whatever the player demanded because they were less than two weeks from their opening fixture and didn't have a centre half because they had wasted the whole summer repeatedly bidding for a player that they were told immediately, and in no uncertain terms, wasn't for sale.
Koch is a decent defender, but hasn't got the passing ability to play for De Zerbi. Shame, because the schadenfreude to be had at Leeds fans turning puce if we nicked him for less than we paid for Veltman would be quite enjoyable. Or, in terms that Killer Whale may appreciate*:
"For 'tis sport to have the engineer
Hoist with his own petard."
(* - Providing of course that the production wasn't totally spoiled for him by a director casting wimmen as Rozencrantz and Guildenstern! Gender roles being swapped in a Shakespeare play?! Tish! The bard would have had none of it!)
It's complete incompetence - see also the signing of Augustin who they had to pay £24.5m to despite him making only 3 substitute appearances and their £36m club record signing of striker Georginio Rutter who made 1 start, 10 sub appearances and scored 0 goals as they were relegated!
Joke of a club and fans.
- Jul 6, 2011
- 2,409
All this is all very well, but the key question needs to be reassessed IMHO:
Are they still deluded after their brief time playing in the big boys league?
Are they still deluded after their brief time playing in the big boys league?
Easy 10
Brain dead MUG SHEEP
Its an absolute clown college in that boardroom, truly breathtaking incompetence over every aspect. From getting their pants pulled down over player contracts such as these examples (and todays apparent clusterfuck), to the panic-station decisions on appointing managers.
No wonder Radrizzani has sold up and sloped off. He's well and truly gone and shit the bed at Elland Road.
Good luck with that goon, Sampdoria...
Mmm I think it might be time to head over to MOT forum
227 BHA
Well-known member
Poor old Leeds - their no 1 managerial target Brendan Rodgers went to Celtic and now the biggest club in the world have been outplayed by plucky little Bournemouth in signing their next target Andoni Iraola 
Nobby Cybergoat
Well-known member
- Jul 19, 2021
- 8,622
Probably Iraola just wanted a bigger club than Leeds. One with some future prospects.Poor old Leeds - their no 1 managerial target Brendan Rodgers went to Celtic and now the biggest club in the world have been outplayed by plucky little Bournemouth in signing their next target Andoni Iraola
The Wookiee
Back From The Dead
And Cantona