From NUFC.com
Sullivan: "We wanted to loan him, but Hoffenheim said they wouldnât loan him as they could get â¬6m for him from Stoke. He then failed the medical at Stoke. I went back and asked to loan him again. Again they said no, but they would sell him to us.
"So we paid â¬500K down, which was almost like a loan fee, and then weâd pay â¬5.5m euros starting the next season depending on how many games he played â one level of payment in the Championship, one level of payment on the Premier League.
"Iâll have to make the figures up because I canât remember, but something like â¬25K a game in the Premier League and â¬10K in the Championship.
"Demba Ba signed a three and a half year contract with us. We had a deal where his salary would be halved if we were relegated. He said, 'Well on that basis, I have got to be allowed to walk if we get relegated'.
What we should have said in retrospect â but none of us thought he would score so many goals â is that weâd be happy to give him £40K a week in the Championship.
In the end I offered him £45K a week to stay but he wouldnât take it. What we should have said was that if we donât halve your salary, you havenât got a get-out.
The failure to put that one line in the contract cost us very, very dearly. As I say, he was on £35K a week and I offered him £45K a week to stay, but he went to Newcastle. His agent got £2m to take him to Newcastle.
Dale: "So do Newcastle now have to pay to Hoffenheim the money you would have had to pay?"
Sullivan: "No. Thatâs why Newcastle could always outbid us. It was our deal with Hoffenheim."
Dale: "So Hoffenheim got stuffed, then."
Sullivan: "Yup, they got half a million for him. This didnât work for anyone except Demba Ba⦠and Newcastle. Iâm told heâs got a £7m get-out at Newcastle and he gets half the money over that. They keep denying it but I think youâll see in the summer he will leave Newcastle or heâll get a monstrous rise to stay there.
"If they get about four million, half will go to him, so if they sell him for £7m theyâll only net about three because they paid his agent £2m to get him out of here. Getting £3m is not bad, but for a player of his quality itâs not fantastic.
"Itâs one of those mistakes that happen, but itâs probably one of the worst mistakes I have ever made in my life. It just didnât enter our heads. it didnât enter anybodyâs head that heâd score enough goals that weâd want to give him £40K a week and his old club £15/20K an appearance and weâd still be relegated. In reality thatâs exactly what happened.
"The agent just threw it in at the last minute. He said 'Obviously if his salary is cut by 50% youâve got to let him walk'. We thought, OK, if we get relegated, do we really want a £40K a week striker in the Championship?
"Well, we would have because he was devastating. If he was with us now and his knee had held up, because remember, he did have a very very bad knee, I think weâd be 15 points clear, I really do. Heâd be cutting through those defences. You live and you learn."
Worrying and definitely a cause for concern in the summer.
Sullivan: "We wanted to loan him, but Hoffenheim said they wouldnât loan him as they could get â¬6m for him from Stoke. He then failed the medical at Stoke. I went back and asked to loan him again. Again they said no, but they would sell him to us.
"So we paid â¬500K down, which was almost like a loan fee, and then weâd pay â¬5.5m euros starting the next season depending on how many games he played â one level of payment in the Championship, one level of payment on the Premier League.
"Iâll have to make the figures up because I canât remember, but something like â¬25K a game in the Premier League and â¬10K in the Championship.
"Demba Ba signed a three and a half year contract with us. We had a deal where his salary would be halved if we were relegated. He said, 'Well on that basis, I have got to be allowed to walk if we get relegated'.
What we should have said in retrospect â but none of us thought he would score so many goals â is that weâd be happy to give him £40K a week in the Championship.
In the end I offered him £45K a week to stay but he wouldnât take it. What we should have said was that if we donât halve your salary, you havenât got a get-out.
The failure to put that one line in the contract cost us very, very dearly. As I say, he was on £35K a week and I offered him £45K a week to stay, but he went to Newcastle. His agent got £2m to take him to Newcastle.
Dale: "So do Newcastle now have to pay to Hoffenheim the money you would have had to pay?"
Sullivan: "No. Thatâs why Newcastle could always outbid us. It was our deal with Hoffenheim."
Dale: "So Hoffenheim got stuffed, then."
Sullivan: "Yup, they got half a million for him. This didnât work for anyone except Demba Ba⦠and Newcastle. Iâm told heâs got a £7m get-out at Newcastle and he gets half the money over that. They keep denying it but I think youâll see in the summer he will leave Newcastle or heâll get a monstrous rise to stay there.
"If they get about four million, half will go to him, so if they sell him for £7m theyâll only net about three because they paid his agent £2m to get him out of here. Getting £3m is not bad, but for a player of his quality itâs not fantastic.
"Itâs one of those mistakes that happen, but itâs probably one of the worst mistakes I have ever made in my life. It just didnât enter our heads. it didnât enter anybodyâs head that heâd score enough goals that weâd want to give him £40K a week and his old club £15/20K an appearance and weâd still be relegated. In reality thatâs exactly what happened.
"The agent just threw it in at the last minute. He said 'Obviously if his salary is cut by 50% youâve got to let him walk'. We thought, OK, if we get relegated, do we really want a £40K a week striker in the Championship?
"Well, we would have because he was devastating. If he was with us now and his knee had held up, because remember, he did have a very very bad knee, I think weâd be 15 points clear, I really do. Heâd be cutting through those defences. You live and you learn."
Worrying and definitely a cause for concern in the summer.
