Dayot Upamecano unable to start pre-season training with Bayern due to bizarre RB Leipzig contract clause
Bayern Munich's latest big-money signing Dayot Upamecano is in a state of limbo as some technicalities in his contract with RB Leipzig has caused a fair amount of confusion about where the player should begin his pre-season.
The disclosure of the clause was released by SportBILD, who says that Bayern expect the player to become "theirs" on July 1, when the previous season officially ends. However, there is a slight technicality that has arisen since Bayern triggered the release clause.
In Upamecano's contract with Die Roten Bullen, should the release clause be triggered, the centre-back will not be able to join a new club until July 15. Bayern announced Upamecano's contract with the champions would start on July 1, but with this clause in the contract, the French defender is not allowed to report to Bayern until after July 15.
This means that when pre-season gets underway, Upamecano will have to report to the pre-season camp with RB Leipzig, which begins on July 5, and train with them until the July 15 date has been passed, from which he can join up with his new teammates.
It's said that if Bayern want him to join up with them before that date, they would have to cover half of Upamecano's monthly salary - reportedly around €200,000, and the Bavarian outfit are understandably not massively keen on that arrangement at this point.
Florian Scholz, Leipzig's commercial director, confirmed the bizarre situation:
"It would certainly make more sense for both clubs if Dayot Upamecano started preparing for his new club after the summer break," Scholz said, as per Bavarian Football Works.
"However, it is correct that this is not the case with the current contractual arrangement. That's why we expect him to start training at RB Leipzig."