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The final pages of another transfer saga are now on the presses.
Just a day before their second match against Eintracht Frankfurt, FC Bayern München have confirmed that Luiz Gustavo will go to VfL Wolfsburg, although the official terms of the transfer will remain undisclosed. On Wednesday, Kicker reported a €20 million transfer fee, while information that German newspaper Die Welt gatherd had the transfer fee around €15 million.
Gustavo has signed a five-year contract, one that will keep him under VfL Wolfsburg control until 2018. HIs repeated desire for pitch time has finally been met, as he tries to hold on to his spot in the Brazil National Team for the 2014 World Cup.
The 26-year-old now joins fellow Brazilians Diego, Naldo, and Felipe Lopes as VfL Wolfsburg try to reestablish former glory. The lower Saxony club has not won the Bundesliga in five years, and have battled with relegation a couple times during that period.
Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, as expected, released a statement on his latest transaction.
"On behalf of FC Bayern, I would like to express warm thanks to Luiz Gustavo for his two and a half years in Munich. His calm but always friendly and extremely professional manner has won him many friends at our club. We could always rely on Luiz Gustavo, and he made his contribution to FC Bayern winning the treble last season."Karl Heinz Rummenigge, FC Bayern's Official Website
One could argue that the transaction of Gustavo, and also of Emre Can, now leaves FC Bayern with only two pure holding midfield options, Javier Martinez and Bastian Schweinsteiger. Jan Kirchhoff has seen time in the center of the park, but has been a defender by trade throughout his young career. Considering some issues at the back, Bayern could the reverberations from this deal when the roster is tested.
What the Gustavo deal also causes is the non-transfer of Diego Contento, a player that has been linked with a loan move to Liverpool. Although Contento would like to seek minutes on stranger tides, Rummenigge is likely to hold onto his 21-year-old left back in order to not stretch the roster too thin.
Gustavo's two and a half years may have been brief, but FC Bayern still won a treble in the time he was here, and Bayern, as well Gustavo, can always hang their hats on that.