(06-21-2021, 09:14 AM)slifersd Wrote: I don't think you will find a lot of fans who disagree that the salary Hakan and Donna asked for were too high for our blood. But, their value are determined by the market, not by fan perception. Donna didn't deserve 10m a year, until PSG came in and signed him for exactly that; Hakan doesn't deserve a dime over 3m a year, and then Inter signs him for 5m according to rumors. If we only want to pay players based on our own perceptions of their value, we are going to end up losing pretty much every single starter on this team. Sure, you can argue that Kessie only had one good season with us on his resume, but that man gets 6m a year easily in EPL. So you can go ahead and offer him 3m because that's how you feel about him, but he's just going to walk for free as well. I know a lot of the fans like to sing Maldini praises for standing firm with Donna and Hakan, but ask yourself this, how much transfer fees did we lose by allowing them to run down their contracts and walk for free? The money we could've gotten from their sale this time last year would've been able to fund a SMS type signing, but we have nothing to show for. That is terrible asset management, even if it was done for the right reasons.

(06-21-2021, 11:09 AM)nefremo Wrote: What happened with Donnarumma and Hakan, happened. It was a different sitiuation as we were in the middle of a pandemic, season was shifted, they wanted wages we could only afford if in the CL, etc. 
I don't think the management has ever been fully convinced of Hakan, so they figured we'll keep him and see if he renews. If not, so be it. 
As for Donnarumma, it was a double edged sword. Last summer, there were heavy rumors that Leonardo offered some ridiculous amount for him....I wanna say it was like 15M + Areola or something. All of us agreed that's insanely low. But I'm sure Leonardo and Raiola have had a deal since then. Damned if you do, and damned if you don't type of situation. Ultimately, it was a mistake to lose him for free. But seeing all the factors that led to that....it can be explained. 

We have to listen to the market, yes. But ultimately, we should only offer the wages WE as a club deem reasonable. Nobody knows our players better then our own management/staff. If an EPL team wants to offer astronomical wages, it should be taken into consideration. But if it's way out of line, then we hold firm and sell if need be. Donnarumma and Hakan should not be repeated. If Kessie, Calabria and Romagnoli don't renew in the next week or two, they should be sold.

(06-21-2021, 09:14 AM)slifersd Wrote: I don't think you will find a lot of fans who disagree that the salary Hakan and Donna asked for were too high for our blood. But, their value are determined by the market, not by fan perception. Donna didn't deserve 10m a year, until PSG came in and signed him for exactly that; Hakan doesn't deserve a dime over 3m a year, and then Inter signs him for 5m according to rumors. If we only want to pay players based on our own perceptions of their value, we are going to end up losing pretty much every single starter on this team. Sure, you can argue that Kessie only had one good season with us on his resume, but that man gets 6m a year easily in EPL. So you can go ahead and offer him 3m because that's how you feel about him, but he's just going to walk for free as well. I know a lot of the fans like to sing Maldini praises for standing firm with Donna and Hakan, but ask yourself this, how much transfer fees did we lose by allowing them to run down their contracts and walk for free? The money we could've gotten from their sale this time last year would've been able to fund a SMS type signing, but we have nothing to show for. That is terrible asset management, even if it was done for the right reasons.

(06-21-2021, 11:34 AM)nefremo Wrote: You don't get it, do you? You offer Hakan the 5M and Kessie the 7M, good luck selling them if they don't perform next year and we miss out on the CL. Because let's be honest, we are not a shoe-in. Overpaid players are incredibly difficult to be sold and they limit you on the market in many ways by eating into your budget and also preventing you from buying someone else because they won't leave for a cent lower then what you pay them. We got a ton of these examples in our squad the last several years.