OGC Nice goalkeeper Marcin Bulka forced out

The summer of 2024 wasn't easy for Marcin Bulka, who was disappointed by the failure of negotiations over a contract upgrade that expires in a year. The 2025 season doesn't look any better for the Polish goalkeeper, who definitively turned his back on a contract extension last September due to the club's hesitations after promising him the top five salary in the dressing room a few months earlier.

The Riviera's leaders have now set the club's expectations for the 25-year-old goalkeeper: his transfer is inevitable to end his adventure in the South of France. Galatasaray has looked into the matter, and AS Monaco are also said to be interested in the imposing international's profile (1.99 m). But the Gym has set a price tag that is considered prohibitive for a last resort whose contract is coming to an end: €20 million.

Transfermarkt has been posting the same market value for the Plock native since last summer. The lackluster 2024-2025 season compared to the previous season has therefore not dented Bulka's stock. He arrived from PSG in 2021 on the Mediterranean coast for just €2 million.

"To ask for 20 million for a player bought ten times cheaper and never revalued in four seasons is rather comical," observes a connoisseur of French football.

The red and black club refuses to play an Aiglon at the end of his contract

The Nice management isn't pressed for time, but the club still needs to replenish its coffers in the face of a wage bill that no longer matches the Gym's financial resources. Setting the bar high for negotiations is a way to put pressure on potential suitors. "The management is demanding a high price for several deals this summer, not just for Bulka," confirms the entourage of another Aiglon.

The second strategy initiated by the Nice board is to avoid seeing a player leave for free next summer. In addition to Marcin Bulka, Pablo Rosario (who is of interest to Paris FC) is concerned by a threat formally exposed to those concerned: any player whose contract expires at the end of the coming season will no longer be in the starting lineup. Ndombele is a special case, Clauss has an additional year as an option, Dupé is leaving for a number 1 role, the only real exception granted by the management therefore concerns Gaëtan Laborde. Because Franck Haise is counting heavily on the 31-year-old striker, but also because his emoluments of more than 300,000 euros per month are putting off any suitors.

Out of the woods, Bulka now has his back to the wall: either a club meets Nice's demands, or he'll leave for free after a blank season. This would be a sad end for a goalkeeper who held the red and black home 89 times, contributing to three European qualifiers (2021-22, 2023-24, 2024-25) and a Coupe de France final (2022).