Confirmed: FCB II leading scorer departs for Serbia
Eighteen-year-old FC Bayern München campus prospect Nemanja Motika officially completed his switch to Red Star Belgrade on Wednesday.
As expected, FCB II striker Nemanja Motika left the FC Bayern campus on Wednesday. The native Berliner with Serbian roots will be headed to the country of his parents to further his career at Red Star Belgrade.
Despite scoring 18 goals and contributing a further six assists for the Bayern reserves in Germany's fourth footballing tier this season, the teenager wasn't able to up his standing in Julian Nagelsmann's pecking order. Even when COVID forced the German giants to field a bench squad mostly of youth reserves back in early January, Motika did no feature.
It was for this reason that Motika opted to seek his breakthrough elsewhere.
"Red Star approached us with an offer that Nemanj was keen to accept for sporting reasons," FC Bayern Campus director Jochen Sauer noted in a statement, "We wish him all the best there and will continue to follow his progress very closer."
There are varying reports on the transfer fee amount paid to Bayern. Sources report anywhere between €1 and €2 million. Presumably, there are performance bonuses built in. Reporter Kerry Hau of German broadcaster "Sport 1" even reports that Bayern have a buy-back clause that could return the youngster to the Bundesliga someday.
According to German footballing magazine Kicker, Motika himself revealed that he had spoken to former German international Marko Marin (an RSB veteran) before deciding on the move. Nemanja's younger brother Nikola also recently joined Dejan Stankovic's team.
#FCBAmateure-Angreifer Nemanja #Motika verlässt den @FCBayern und schließt sich dem serbischen Erstligisten FK Roter Stern Belgrad an.
— FC Bayern Campus (@fcbayerncampus) February 2, 2022
Danke für viereinhalb Jahre im roten Trikot, Nene! 🔴⚪
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