Alphonso Davies: Man Utd and Real Madrid told ASTRONOMICAL demands

Tom Weber

• Updated: 23 Oct 2024 17:26 BST
• 3 min read

Alphonso Davies is demanding a €15 million signing bonus in addition to his sizeable salary, according to German media.

The Bayern Munich star is out of contract next summer and speculation surrounding his future has been ever-present for well over a year. Real Madrid have been courting the left-back at least since October 2023, while Bayern have been trying to reach a common ground with him on fresh terms.

However, so far, there has still not been any tangible progress. The maximum the German champions have offered is a salary of €13 million per season, while the Canadian is said to be demanding €20m.

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Davies endured a difficult campaign in 2023/24, hence Bayern's reluctance to accede to his demands. However, even though he has massively improved under Vincent Kompany, €20m is still deemed excessive, but the Bundesliga side have not yet closed the door on renewed negotiations.

The uncertainty surrounding the defender has also attracted other clubs in addition to Real Madrid. Man Utd view Davies as a 'dream' target but accept that a move to Spain is more attractive. Barcelona are also attentive to the situation as Hansi Flick is intimately familiar with the player, having won the Champions League with him in 2020.

Davies and the myth of the 'free' transfer

Now, BILD claims to know that the €20m salary isn't the only hefty fee Davies is demanding. It is asserted that the 23-year-old is also asking for a €15m signing-on fee, illustrating that a Bosman transfer is never truly 'free.'

Given his age, Davies' next contract will likely run for four or five years, meaning that, if he gets his way, his next club would have to pay €95m-€115m over the duration of his deal, not including other expenses such as performance and team-based bonuses and agent commissions.

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With a €20m salary, Davies would be Man Utd's and Barcelona's second-best-paid player behind Casemiro and Robert Lewandowski, respectively. At Real Madrid, he would fall just short of matching the €20.8m salaries of Jude Bellingham and Vinicius Jr.

Singing the Canadian on a 'free' transfer would evidently be very, very pricey.