How the Bundesliga side is raking in millions from attackers and leaving big clubs with buyer’s remorse.
Over the past few years, Eintracht Frankfurt have become synonymous with smart business in the transfer market—especially when it comes to attackers. From Randal Kolo Muani to Luka Jović, Sébastien Haller, and now Hugo Ekitike and Omar Marmoush, the German side has made staggering profits that rival even the likes of Brighton, with some fans dubbing them the “German Brighton”—but perhaps they deserve an even greater title.
Just six months into 2025, Eintracht Frankfurt have made over €148 million in profit from two attackers alone: Omar Marmoush, signed for free from Wolfsburg in 2023 and sold to Manchester City for €75 million, and Hugo Ekitike, who was bought from PSG for €16.5 million in 2024 and sold to Liverpool for a jaw-dropping €90+ million.
What makes this even more impressive is that none of these players came through the club’s academy. Frankfurt’s brilliance lies not in youth development but in elite-level scouting and player development. They find undervalued or overlooked talent, give them a stage, and then sell them for astronomical fees.
When Profit Outweighs Performance
However, the question many fans are now asking is: Are Eintracht Frankfurt simply excellent at doing business—or are they scamming Europe’s top clubs?
Let’s look at the track record:
- Randal Kolo Muani was signed for free and sold to PSG for €95 million just a year later. He flopped in Paris, scoring only 11 goals in a season and a half before being shipped out, as Luis Enrique preferred using Dembélé centrally.
- Luka Jović, after a productive loan spell, was bought for €22.3 million from Benfica and sold two months later to Real Madrid for €63 million. He failed to make an impact in Spain and returned to Frankfurt on loan before moving to Fiorentina for free.
- Sébastien Haller was bought for €7 million from Utrecht and sold for €50 million to West Ham. He struggled in England and was offloaded to Ajax at a €27.5 million loss—though he later revived his career in Amsterdam and at AFCON.
And now, Hugo Ekitike—a talented but unproven striker—has joined Liverpool for a fee pushing €100 million, despite limited top-level experience and no senior international caps.
Scam or Strategy?
Calling it a “scam” feels unfair. The evidence shows that these players have real quality—just not always in the environments they move into. Haller became a goal machine at Ajax. Kolo Muani is impressing at Juventus. Jović scored twice off the bench after returning to Frankfurt. The problem often isn’t the players—but how well buying clubs understand what they’re getting.
Eintracht Frankfurt are simply ahead of the curve in scouting, development, and timing. They spot under-the-radar gems, give them the right system to shine, and sell when the stock is high. This is a textbook case of buy low, sell high, executed to near-perfection.
Their recent investments—Elye Wahi, Jonathan Burkardt, and Oscar Højlund—for under €26 million each show they’re not slowing down. In a few years, these players may be commanding €60-90 million fees too, and when that happens, we hope the narrative isn’t “scam”—but respect for elite-level football economics.
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