Ex-Sport board over Bavaria period
© Imago
On May 27, 2023, Hasan Salihamidzic’s era ended prematurely as a sports board at FC Bayern-in the middle of the championship fight. He has increased the squad value of the Munich team from 880 million to 984 million euros since he took office in August 2017 and celebrated 16 titles. In the “Sport Bild” he talks about his time on Säbener Straße and the accusation that he had left an overpriced squad.
“To be responsible at FC Bayern is not always the simplest and most pleasant job, but it is what I wanted,” Salihamidzic looks back. His first transfer was that of Sandro Wagner in January 2018 for EUR 13 million from TSG Hoffenheim – a total of he was able to hire access to 436 million euros. “It was important to us right from the start to build a team with a core of German international. The boys in the cabin harmonized well with the sporting highlight of the Champions League victory 2020.”
Salihamidzic’s term was one of the most successful phases of the record champion. For these successes, service providers were rewarded with contracts that were internationally sought in this number. With these highly doped working papers, sports director Max Eberl is currently struggling to reduce the squad costs.
I don’t want to know what would have been going on if we had left one of them free of charge
“You always have to see this in connection with the time when the individual contracts have been concluded,” says Salihamidzic. “We were Champions League winners, the best team in Europe with six titles won in one season. Our task was to bind the top performers of this successful team in the long term. Even if it was a lot of money in the end, the players were in the best football age-whether Kingsley Coman, Leon Goretzka, Serge Gnabry, they all had offers from top European clubs.” Goretzka was extended with Goretzka in September 2021 to 2026, with Coman in January 2022 to 2027 and with Gnabry in July 2022 to 2026 – each of them earns between EUR 17 million and EUR 19 million per season.
“I don’t want to know what would have been going on if we had to let you go free of charge. But the truth also includes that in the transfer summer 2022 we had taken more than 100 million euros through player sales in the history of FC Bayern. I have always kept an eye on the economic situation of the association,” emphasizes Salihamidzic. While he was responsible for transfer, the expenditure of 436 million income of EUR 284.5 million was compared. In the summer of 2022 alone, players were sold for EUR 121.9 million – including Robert Lewandowski, who switched to FC Barcelona for 45 million euros.
“In my time at Bayern we always kept the balance between sales, income and costs, the club had a positive result every year, and there were also pandemic years. Every big player investment was coordinated with the supervisory board. The salaries were often at the border, but we wanted to offer the fans an attraction. People go to the stadium, as used to be for Franck Ribéry and Arjen Robben, ”said Salihamidzic. In winter 2019, he brought Davies for a total of 14 million euros from Vancouver and Musiala in summer 2019 for 200,000 euros from Chelsea’s youth to the U17 of Bavaria. “And of course we also made mistakes, as was the case before us and will be the case in the future. Football is a risk business, but our error rate was not so high, otherwise we would not have won 16 titles.”
After months of back and forth, Eberl managed to extend contracts with Davies, Musiala and Joshua Kimmich. While the salaries of Davies and Musiala have been raised to EUR 15 million and EUR 25 million per season, Kimmich should remain at around 20 million euros per year. “This confirms that the prices are made from the market. The club and his sports director have a limited influence on this. If these players have offers from top clubs from Europe on the table, you have to bid or be able to afford to be drawn,” says the Champions League winner from 2001.
“As far as the extensions of Jamal, Alphonso and Jo is concerned, I am glad that they stay at FC Bayern. That was also our plan at the time. All three were faces of FC Bayern. Our project at the time was fully risen. We were already close to Musiala and Davies in spring 2023. Then my release came in between.” While Davies and Kimmich’s contracts had expired this summer, the old working paper from Musiala until 2026. “My principle is: two years before the end of the contract time, the leaders who are to be kept must be extended. Otherwise you get under pressure, and the consultants will gain the upper hand.”
After an almost two-year break from the football business, Salihamidzic is now active together with his son Nick in King’s League, founded by ex-Barça professional Gerrard Piqué. “My father is in the Kings League with our President team, I the squad planner,” says Nick Salihamidzic. Together they take care of the fortunes of the No Rules FC, for which Nick works as a “playing sports director”, according to his father. As a result of his departure on Säbener Straße, Salihamidzic was compensated with a severance payment in the millions. “The bottom line was great fun to work in this function at Bayern.”