BULGARIAN left winger Martin Petrov is about to complete a 10 million euro switch from Germany'sWFL Wolfsburg to Spain's Atletico (Madrid).
The negotiations between the two football clubs have been going for more than a month and last week it seemed almost certain that the transfer would not be completed.
Petrov has been playing for four yeas for WFL Wolfsburg and he finished last season with more goals and set-ups of goals than any of his teammates.
There is a special clause in his personal contract that states that the German club would not sell him for any price lower than 10 million euro. Petrov's current contract with the team is for two more years.
Atletico's initial offer was just six million euro, which was later raised by one million. However WFL Wolfsburg was not willing to make any negotiations and strictly insisted for the transfer fee that is listed in Petrov's contract.
"The initial offer by Atletico was not satisfactory for us. We are going to abide firmly by all of the clauses of the contract. I am pretty tired of all this. No way we are going to change our position regarding this transfer," said WFL Wolfsburg chief manager Thomas Strunz.
On Sunday the Spanish club finally decided that it was worth paying the 10 million asked for Petrov. However, the transfer negotiations may still break down, because Atletico is not willing to pay the whole amount of money all at once, as WFL Wolfsburg demands.
Petrov's personal desire is to move to Spain, because he feels he has achieved his maximum at the German team and wants to go to a club with higher ambitions and better public image. He was extremely disappointed after his personal manager Lachezar Tanev failed to convince Strunz to lower the transfer demand for the player, so that the switch to Atletico could be completed.
"I do not want to comment on anything about this. Better ask Strunz, he was a top class player, so he obviously knows everything. They told me I am valuable for the team. If the negotiations break down, I will wait for two more years and will leave the club without any transfer fee. I still strongly believe, though, that on Wednesday I will be an Atletico player," Petrov said.
His desire to leave WFL Wolfsburg is so strong that he is willing to sacrifice his personal signing fee of 1.5 million euro, so that the transfer could be completed. This way Atletico has to pay the German side just 8.5 million euro, which is a much more reasonable price for the Spaniards than the demanded 10 million.
Petrov has the full support of his personal manager Tanev.
"Martin gave a lot to WFL Wolfsburg during the past four years. We expected that they would be willing to give him a chance to further develop his football qualities at a club with higher ambitions. That is why we are quite disappointed with their attitude, but we must abide by the clauses of the contract," Tanev said.
Besides playing for WFL Wolfsburg, Petrov has been one of the key players in the Bulgarian national team. He scored the only goal for his country during the European Championship in Portugal last summer in the 1:2 defeat by Italy.
Bulgarian national coach Hristo Stoichkov also gave his opinion on the transfer saga. Stoichkov accused WFL Wolfsburg of trying to hinder the development and ruin the career of the player.
"Of course, it would be a big step forward for Martin, if he is to be transferred to Atletico. But what more can you expect from a person like Thomas Strunz. He was a bad football player, now he shows that he is a bad manager as well. Everything has a price, but he needs to understand that with or without Petrov, WFL Wolfsburg will not finish higher than 10th place in the German Bundesliga. You need to have more than one good player to make a strong team and WFL Wolfsburg do not have anyone else other than Martin. Petrov is very professional, he has great ambitions and wants to go to a club where he could fulfill them," said Stoichkov.