Leeds United: Extraordinary figures emerge over Jean-Kevin Augustin as unwanted record broken at Elland Road
Jean-Kevin Augustin’s signing is one of the worst decisions in the history of Leeds United due to the financial burden and poor on-field contributions that followed.
Football finance expert Kieran Maguire revealed on Twitter that the Whites paid £13,715 per second for the French striker.
Calculating it based on that, the 26-year-old is the most expensive player in football history based on the cost per appearance.
Maguire wrote as Leeds withdrew their appeal against compensation of £24.5million: “Augustin is the most expensive player in football history in terms of cost per appearance. It worked out at £13,715 per second for Leeds.”
Bielsa failed to work with Augustin at Leeds United
In January 2020, Leeds secured Augustin on loan from RB Leipzig with an obligation to make the transfer permanent for £18million if the club achieved promotion to the Premier League.
Although Leeds won promotion, Augustin made only three appearances for the club, totalling just 48 minutes, and fell out of favour with Marcelo Bielsa.
Leeds declined to sign Augustin permanently, citing the delay of the 2019/20 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which they believed invalidated the transfer clause.
However, this decision led to a legal dispute between RB Leipzig and Augustin himself.
FIFA ruled in favour of the parties seeking compensation from Leeds, leading to a hefty financial penalty of £24.5million for Augustin’s claim and a separate £15million settlement with Leipzig.
Leeds United behind-the-scenes flaws exposed
This saga exposed significant mismanagement by Leeds, both in terms of player recruitment and handling legal disputes.
The massive payout and poor return on investment made Augustin the most expensive player in football history in terms of cost per appearance, costing Leeds £13,715 per second of game time.
The entire episode was an ugly saga that reflected poorly on the club’s decision-making and left a substantial financial burden.
In other Leeds United news, a teenage sensation is now set to snub Manchester United in order to move to Elland Road.
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