Fortuna Dusseldorf sports director Lutz Pfannenstiel has joked that if his side had agreed a purchase option with Manchester City for Zack Steffen they would have had to have sold their stadium to be able to trigger it.
Steffen, who joined Premier League side Manchester City from MLS outfit Columbus Crew in the summer, was sent on loan to German club Fortuna Dusseldorf soon after.
While some clubs manage to include a purchase option when signing a player on loan, the Bundesliga outfit do not have one in their deal for Steffen.
Pfannenstiel, who manages sporting matters for the club's board, has revealed that the Bundesliga side were forced to not include a purchase option for the American goalkeeper because of financial constraints.
Zack Steffen has been pulling out all the stops for @f95 so far ⛔ pic.twitter.com/3CCWNGXiQg
— Bundesliga English (@Bundesliga_EN) September 10, 2019
"We could have got a purchase option for Steffen but to buy him we would have to sell the stadium, if it was ours", Pfannenstiel joked to German daily the Rheinische Post.
He also stressed that Fortuna Dusseldorf are at a stage where loans make sense, as the club look to move towards a position where they can afford to make big money permanent signings.
"Loan deals are only an intermediate step in Fortuna's journey", Pfannenstiel said.
"We have to be more diligent than others because we just do not have the financial resources that other clubs have."
Steffen has played in each of Fortuna Dusseldorf's three Bundesliga games this season and also helped the side win their DFB Pokal tie against FC 08 Villingen last month.
