OM: Pierre-Emile Höjbjerg has a €2m exit clause

Pierre-Emile Höjbjerg’s future at Marseille could be decided by a release clause that sharply limits the club’s leverage. The midfielder can reportedly depart for only €2 million after completing his third season, despite having a four-year contract with OM.

The clause gives the 32-year-old an important choice and could attract more suitors when that point in his deal arrives. Marseille are seeking to extend his contract, partly to spread out the cost of a salary believed to be €500,000 a month, but Höjbjerg would have little financial reason to surrender such favourable terms without a new agreement.

His decision to reject a move to Newcastle this summer also carried consequences. The proposed transfer would have brought Marseille about €15 million, and the refusal upset owner Frank McCourt. Höjbjerg subsequently lost the captaincy, although new president Stéphane Richard has indicated that he could regain it. Coach Bruno Genesio also considers the experienced Denmark international an especially valuable player.

The clause means Marseille may face another decision over Höjbjerg as early as the winter, particularly if contract talks do not progress. A player who stayed when the club could have collected a substantial fee could then become available for a fraction of that amount.