Yep and Utd used to cherry pick the best players in the league for nominal fees. At some point things change / teams catch on, why is Branthwaite quoted at €75m? do you think the next Caicedo-esque talent from Ecuador will go for <€5m? why aren’t Benfica talents still selling their talents for €50m?
The answer is that the money in football is only going up and the teams with players wanted by the big leagues can exploit this.
Saying that the release clause won’t be used with such conviction is ridiculous. If he tears it up like Alvarez and Enzo were, like Endrick has been, then someone will pay that €50m. Release clauses are becoming more and more prevalent in football and it’s a teams way of making their price for a prized asset. River clearly see this kid as their next big thing and they have a great reputation for their academy products, so will be wanting a bigger slice of the pie and to make sure they get proper market value from him this time (like Brazilian teams are with Endrick and Vitor Roque), rather than being undercut.
You will only be right about the release clause if he turns out to be average, in which case they’ll sell him for like €10m to the MLS. That or he performs to his potential and someone triggers his release clause.