Bayern Munich’s Dayot Upamecano being held hostage by bizarre RB Leipzig contract

According to a report from Bild, a bizarre contractual stipulation might keep Dayot Upamecano with RB Leipzig until July 15th, instead of moving to Bayern Munich on July 1st.

Contrary to what mostly everyone assumed, Bild investigated the issue and confirmed that Upamecano’s contract end date is not until July 15th because the defender’s release clause was triggered:

The contract runs from July 1st. But SPORT BILD and BILD have found out: That’s not true — and therefore has strange consequences for the central defender.

Because: In the release clause of the France star, the start date was defined for July 15, should a club pull the clause. The Bavarians did that and paid 42.5 million euros for the defender. However, as is usually the case with an agreement, the date has not been changed.

So...is there any way that Bayern Munich can make it work to get Upamecano in-house earlier? There is...but it will not be cheap. The Bavarians would have to half of Upamecano’s monthly salary (approximately €200,000) — something Bild says they are not willing to do at this point.

With RB Leipzig still paying Upamecano, he will — unbelievably — report to training with Die Roten Bullen on July 5th and practice in Leipzig for a week-and-a-half before moving on.

RB Leipzig commercial director for sports Florian Scholz confirmed the report.

“It would certainly make more sense for both clubs if Dayot Upamecano started preparing for his new club after the summer break,” Scholz said. “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.”