Frankfurt striker Ekitic is about to join Liverpool with a transfer fee of 95 million euros. German media Bistro said that the key figure in achieving these big deals in recent years has brought rich income to the club is sports director Klescher.

In October 2021, a few months after joining Frankfurt in Klescher, Biography reported on the topic of "Marcus Klescher is the future of Frankfurt", and the statement that sounded bold and risky at the time has now become a reality.

The sports director was introduced from his rival RB Leipzig in 2021 by former Supervisory Board Chairman Holtzer, who was questioned in Frankfurt in the early days, and then he completed outstanding work in four years, so it was no accident that he was elected as the best manager of the season: He miraculously tapped high potential players for Frankfurt with amazing regularity and sold them at a high price after they were fully developed, and at a very high price.

His previous moves include Muani who transferred to Paris Saint-Germain for 95 million euros in the summer of 2023, Lindstrom of Naples for 30 million euros, Pacho who transferred to Paris Saint-Germain for 40 million euros the following year, and Marmush who transferred to Manchester City for 80 million euros in January 2025.

Klescher's latest outstanding move is: 23-year-old Ekitic will transfer to Premier League defending champion Liverpool for 95 million euros, an amount of 20 million euros higher than the striker's current market value.

In the past two years, Klescher has brought an astonishing 340 million euros to Frankfurt through these five transactions. Since taking office in the summer of 2021, the team's lineup value has increased from 228.75 million euros to the current 409.4 million euros (German Transfer Data) - the value-added rate has reached 78.95%, which is simply incredible.

Just just talking about the three strikers, Muani, Marmush and Ekitic, Klescher made 270 million euros in just spending 20 million euros (to introduce Ekitic), which is 13.5 times the investment.

So, what is the secret of Klescher's transfer? Bistro said that he always follows four principles:

1. No termination clause is included in the contracts of Frankfurt's core players or potential new stars. The only exception at present is Sciri. Koch's termination clause has been bought out by the club in its recent contract renewal. In this way, Klescher can negotiate freely.

2. He tends to sign a six-year "marathon" contract. The shorter the contract term, the more pressure the club and players face. Klescher's goal is to never let any player enter the final year of the contract.

3. If the player develops faster than the club, Klescher will let him go and make it clear that the club will not set obstacles. But: Klescher will determine the player's transfer fee asking price as soon as possible and will only make concessions on a very small scale. Major European clubs know this very well.

4. Klescher will never bring in players at the price he sells in the future, but he must see development potential. When Frankfurt signs a player, it is usually expected to sell at about four times its buying price. Once this goal is achieved, half of this transfer revenue will be used to introduce replacements and potentially other players, while the other half will be used to pay for staff costs or to build club infrastructure.

In addition, Klescher had been successful in his time in Leipzig: He has served as sports director since 2019 and has brought 115 million euros to the club in Leipzig.

Overall, Klescher earned 455 million euros in selling players in Leipzig and Frankfurt. That doesn't even include players like Guvadior: it was Klescher who brought him to Leipzig, but when he moved to Manchester City for €90 million, Klescher was no longer there.

When Klescher took office in Frankfurt in June 2021, he completely reformed the scouting department, replaced staff, introduced many new faces, and targeted data-driven systems to find talent. He developed a "time model" for young players: adapt and learn in the first year, show practical strength in the second year, and the best situation is to sell in the third year to bring huge profits to the club.

Klescher also has unique vision and good luck in choosing a head coach: he first appointed Glasner in the summer of 2021. Although the team ranked only 11th in the league that season, the coach led the team to win the UEFA Cup and the subsequent UEFA Champions League qualification.

After Glasner left office in 2023, Klescher appointed Topmer, and the teams ranked 6th and 3rd respectively in the past two seasons. Frankfurt once again entered the Champions League through the league after many years. Topmerle is also especially the coach who is perfectly in line with Klescher's philosophy, because he also likes to work with young players, be patient and give them time to develop.

Klescher sets the goal for Frankfurt always: "We must take a solid position in the fifth place in the Bundesliga." He has achieved this goal. And he himself has long been the number one manager.