Nico Schlotterbeck admits that the desire to keep playing Bundesliga football convinced him to turn down an offer from Premier League outfit Newcastle United, speaking to Sky Deutschland.
With those Saudi Arabian billionaires threatening to construct another gulf-funded superclub out of the ashes of Mike Ashley’s Reign of Discontent, Freiburg are proving that you don’t need a crown prince with pockets deeper than the Marianas Trench in order to crash your way through a glass ceiling.
The beasts from the Black Forest have the third-lowest wage budget in the Bundesliga. Not that you’d have guessed it.
Inspired by their long-serving and eternally popular head coach Christian Streich, the perennial overachievers are fifth in the table, just two points adrift of Bayer Leverkusen in third.
It would have been easy, however, for Schlotterbeck to turn his back on Freiburg, as Maximilian Phillip, Caglar Soyuncu and co have done before.
But while Diego Carlos would’ve jumped at the chance to swap a place in Sevilla folklore for a suitcase full of £50 bills at St James’ Park, Schlotterbeck’s loyalty – especially in this day – feels like a refreshing change of pace.
Proof that, even at the highest levels of European football, romance isn’t dead yet.
Why did Nico Schlotterbeck reject Newcastle United?
“For me, it’s still a dream come true that I play in the Bundesliga. And that’s why I don’t have the desire to go abroad,” says the Germany U21 international centre-back.
According to 90Min, Schlotterbeck turned down an offer that would have made him Newcastle’s record signing.
The newly-minted Magpies were ready to pay a fee in excess of the £40 million they forked over to sign another Bundesliga youngster in the shape of Joelinton.
“Whether it’s England, Spain or Italy, I want to stay in Germany if I can,” Schlotterbeck adds.
Newcastle did manage to strengthen their central defensive options on deadline day, bringing in boyhood Magpies fanatic Dan Burn from Brighton. Kieran Trippier, Bruno Guimaraes, Matt Targett and Chris Wood also arrived.
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