Bernd Leno believes Arsenal sold him for a ‘bargain’ price and he is worth more than the £3million Fulham paid to sign him.
Leno has been speaking to the London Evening Standard after impressing in goal for Fulham this season.
Arsenal forked out £20million to sign Leno from Bayer Leverkusen back in the summer of 2018.
Leno racked up 125 appearances for Arsenal but was phased out of the team with Aaron Ramsdale taking his place.
Arsenal then decided to sell Leno last summer and accepted a deal with Fulham worth just £3million up front.
That has proven to be a great deal for Fulham as Leno has been turning in impressive performances this season.
Leno has now admitted that he thinks the £3million fee is ‘very, very cheap’ for a player of his quality.
Leno claims he is worth more than that fee and believes just £3million for a Premier League player would make him ‘very bad’.
“I have to say it’s a bargain,” said Leno. “It’s very, very cheap, especially in the Premier League. I am not £3m — I’m probably worth a little bit more. Otherwise I would be a very bad player!” he added.
Arsenal sold Bernd Leno before his contract ran out
In normal circumstances, Arsenal and Edu would probably agree that £3million is far too low for a goalkeeper like Leno.
Arsenal took a £17million loss on Leno and they won’t have loved that deal.
Yet the fact is that Arsenal just didn’t have much of a negotiating position when it came to Leno.
The 31-year-old was heading into the final year of his contract at Arsenal and he would be free to leave for nothing in 2024.
Leno was demoted to second choice behind Ramsdale and Arsenal had already signed his replacement in Matt Turner.
Put all of that together and Arsenal couldn’t really ask for much when Fulham came knocking.
£3million is still pretty cheap but Leno will just be happy to be playing week in and week out for Fulham.
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