The chance that Ricardo Pepi can also be admired in the Eredivisie next season has increased slightly. The FC Groningen striker, who is currently rented from FC Augsburg, does not see a return to the Bundesliga club. He tells that in conversation with Football International. However, Augsburg does not seem to want to sell him. Feyenoord and PSV have already expressed their interest in the striker and would like to see him come.
Pepi responds in the interview to earlier words from trainer Enrico Maassen and sporting director Stefan Reuter of Augsburg. The couple announced that they do not want to sell the striker and expect him back in Germany after this season. Pepi, bought last January for 16.5 million euros, still has a contract until mid-2026. “We see a future in Pepi and do not intend to sell him,” Reuter said firmly. Maassen stated that he ‘looks forward to Pepi returning’. However, the attacker himself has a completely different opinion.
“For me it is clear: I do not want to go back to Augsburg. I have already let the club know that. I have been promised and promised things that have not been fulfilled. Then it is simple: then you have to look for another club “, said the protagonist himself. “My side of the story is clear: because of the way they treated me, going back to Augsburg is not an option.” Agent Jaime Garcia agrees with his client’s words and is not pleased with the way Pepi has been treated.
“A club that gets a player is not only responsible for his development as a footballer, you are also dealing with a person. If the trainer and director in Augsburg have exchanged four words with him, there are still many,” said the representative . “It is thanks to the patience and tenacity of Wouter Gudde and Mark-Jan Fledderus, otherwise Ricardo would hardly have played and his market value would have plummeted. Not until the last day of the transfer window, exactly twelve hours before the deadline , should he suddenly be rented out or sold.”
As far as Garcia is concerned, a return is therefore unthinkable. “They have six strikers and in the winter window they got two more. You could see it as a signal that they don’t need Ricardo anymore. He didn’t get a chance and the chance of a real chance is not there. Let me put it this way: Ricardo Pepi isn’t going back to Augsburg. The only reason he’s still in the market is because Ricardo insisted on being hired. It was also his idea that made sure that the investment of the club has not completely evaporated.”