Brighton And Hürzeler Sign Gruda: Replaces Diallo As Mainz’s Most Expensive Departure

Expenditure exceeds 100 million

1. FSV Mainz 05 has recorded a new record departure. Brajan Gruda is leaving the club for Brighton & Hove Albion, becoming the most expensive player the Bundesliga club has sold in its history. Sky reporter Florian Plettenberg first reported on Monday evening about an impending transfer of the 20-year-old winger to the Seagulls. According to the TV station, both clubs agreed on a transfer fee in the region of 30 million euros. According to Kicker, including bonuses, which are almost certain to be paid, even up to 40 million euros is possible.

The new Brighton coach Fabian Hürzeler is said to have personally convinced Gruda to transfer to the Premier League. In June it was said that Gruda was leaning towards a move to FC Bayern, but the rumor has not been confirmed since then. Bayer Leverkusen and Brighton from mid-July onwards have also been repeatedly linked with him. Mainz 05 is said to have even had a price of 50 million euros for their homegrown player, whose contract was valid until 2026. For six years, Abdou Diallo (28, now at Al-Arabi SC) held the status of the most expensive Mainz departure: the defender brought in 28 million euros when he moved to Borussia Dortmund in 2018.

Mainz fan “HerrSchorch” wrote about Gruda’s Brighton deal in the TM community: “I had hoped that Bayern, Mainz and Gruda would sit down at a table and agree on a decent transfer fee with a loan back. Why Bayern didn’t try again is a mystery to me.” User “Marsupilami” stated: “From Mainz and Brighton’s perspective, a top transfer. From Gruda’s point of view, I can only partially understand it, but financially he will probably make a fortune. (…) In the end, I simply see a not insignificant chance that Brighton, including Gruda, will end up somewhere in the middle of the table in the next two to five years alongside the other ambitious Evertons, Wolverhamptons and Crystal Palaces. (…) Long story short: a lot of risk, very manageable sporting prospects as a club, great competition for Gruda in a new league, new team and a completely different kind of football.”

Mainz farewell: Brighton purchase Gruda was keen to take the next step

“I would never have thought that everything would happen so quickly six months ago,” Gruda said in an interview with “Bild,” summing up his rapid development last season. “I would like to take the next step. And I think I’m ready for it,” he admitted openly. “I’m not stressing about it, I trust my agent 100 percent – it will all be sorted out.” A few days later, he backtracked a little in an interview with “Sky”: “It’s a difficult topic for me. It’s important for me to play a lot. If I move somewhere and don’t play, it would destroy me. The money will come at some point. The most important thing is that I play a lot and develop further.”

Last season, Gruda contributed four goals and three assists in 29 games, increasing his market value from €500,000 to €20 million. Brighton’s expenses have exceeded the €100 million mark with the transfer – for the second time in the club’s history after 2023/24. At that time, this was offset by income of €190.2 million, and this year it has so far been around €34 million. Most recently, Yankuba Minteh (20) and Ibrahim Osman (19; will probably be loaned to Feyenoord) moved to southern England, where they will compete with Gruda on the outside in the future (see all Brighton transfers). On the transfer side, there are two German European Championship participants, Deniz Undav (28; Stuttgart) and Pascal Groß (33; BVB).