Rather, the Bundesliga team welcomed the move as validation of a mentality that has made them the preferred choice for emerging talent.
Olmo left for La Liga powerhouse Barcelona in a £51 million transfer after winning the 2024 European Championship with Spain. He had joined Leipzig from Dinamo Zagreb, and had enjoyed four successful years there as a player.
He now joins an impressive roster of names that the team, or the larger Red Bull model, has hired, developed, and sold for a handsome profit.
With midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai joining Liverpool, forward Christopher Nkunku going to Chelsea, and defender Josko Gvardiol joining Manchester City—the club’s record sale at £77 million—it is the fourth time in the past two years that Leipzig has spent more than £50 million on a player.
Marcel Schafer, the general director of sport at RB Leipzig who came from Wolfsburg in the summer, saw an opportunity rather than a disappointment in the £29 million transfer of both Olmo and 24-year-old defender Mohamed Simakan to Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia.
For a total of £30 million less than this summer’s sales, highly-touted 19-year-old winger Antonio Nusa, teenage midfield prospects Assan Ouedraogo and Arthur Vermeeren, who were initially on loan, 22-year-old goalkeeper Maarten Vandevoordt, and 24-year-old defender Lutsharel Geertruida arrived.
