Roger Schmidt has in an interview with 11 Freunde opened a book about the way in which he managed to seduce Mario Götze in October last year to switch to PSV. The German coach not only speaks of a good relationship with the former world champion, but also indicates that Götze’s salary requirements did not suit a club like PSV. Despite this, Schmidt managed to add the attacker to his selection on the final day of the transfer window.
The transfer from Götze to PSV was one of the most spectacular during the last summer window in the Netherlands. “They knew I was working with Mario, but we did not expect it to work out”, Schmidt responds to the question to what extent the PSV board was aware of an imminent transfer. “When things got going, the club did everything in its power to bring him to PSV. With a salary that is extreme for PSV, but manageable compared to what Mario earned before.” In October it reported Algemeen Dagblad that Götze’s salary at PSV, including premiums, does not exceed two million euros per year.
Schmidt admits that he was also surprised by the fact that Götze saw a transfer to PSV. “I announced my interest in him early in the summer without thinking of a serious chance,” said Schmidt. “His contract was about to expire, so things didn’t seem wholly hopeless. At the end of the window, time pressure started to play a role, as there is no point in bringing in a player of his class without being eligible to play in the game. Europa League. So Mario and I met on the last day of the transfer window in Düsseldorf and quickly agreed. “
Ten hours after that meeting, the contract was signed. “As a coach, I always try to put together a selection in the best possible way. It is logical that I also ask questions that at first glance do not seem realistic. Usually twenty or thirty of these attempts lead to nothing, but you have to do it anyway. In the end, good timing and the personal relationship between us was decisive. When we sat together, we soon had the idea that it could work. “
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