Jérôme Boateng goes to Linz. © POOL / ANDREAS GEBERT

Transfer hammer: Boateng goes to Austria

Former world champion Jérôme Boateng will play in the Austrian Bundesliga from now on.

31 Maj 2024

From: apa

The 35-year-old defender is moving from the Italian club US Salernitana to Linz ASK. As the third in the championship announced on Friday, Boateng signed a two-year contract until the summer of 2026. “It is absolute madness and unbelievable that with Jérôme Boateng we were able to bring such an internationally sought-after exceptional player and model athlete to LASK,” said club boss Siegmund Gruber.

Boateng was only signed by Salernitana in February after being without a club for several months, but was unable to save the club from relegation from Serie A. His contract with the Italians expires on June 30th. The Berlin native had previously played for Olympique Lyon for two years after winning the Champions League twice in ten years at FC Bayern Munich.

Both the Linz club officials and Boateng himself emphasized that he was giving up money when moving to Austria. “He made a massive financial contribution to us, otherwise his signing would not have been possible,” explained Gruber. The 2014 world champion expressed himself similarly. “I had numerous offers, but I consciously chose LASK because I was completely convinced by the club's sporting approach, idea and vision. For me, that is much more important than the financial factor,” said Boateng.