Hainer on FC Bayern transfers: “We wanted to be in front of the wave this time”

137.5 million issues

After the transfer offensive this summer, club president Herbert Hainer sees FC Bayern in the best possible light in the long term with top-class newcomers such as Sadio Mané and Matthijs de Ligt as well as contract extensions with top performers such as goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, Thomas Müller, Joshua Kimmich, Leon Goretzka, Kingsley Coman and Serge Gnabry set up. “We have now built the squad for the next few years, not just for the next season,” said Hainer in “Sport1 double pass“.

The Munich side have compensated for the loss of top scorer Robert Lewandowski, who switched to FC Barcelona for at least 45 million euros, with investments totaling 137.5 million euros in new top players – early on before the end of the transfer window. “We wanted to be ahead of the wave this time,” said the President and Chairman of the Supervisory Board, explaining the early action of the record champions. With this sum, FCB broke the German spending record for a summer. Since the transfers of Mané, de Ligt, Ryan Gravenberch and Mathys Tel included bonus payments, one can assume that it will be a record summer for Munich.

“Late transfers” have not always gone so well in the past, Hainer admitted self-critically. A transfer plan was drawn up after last season and then “worked through”. Now, at the beginning of the season, they are “more or less through”. “The summer was busy, but also very successful,” summed up Hainer.

FC Bayern’s Kahn: “No discussion” about buying a direct replacement for Lewandowski

Bayern’s CEO Oliver Kahn agreed with Hainer that one shouldn’t expect any more newcomers from Munich this summer – to be more precise, no real nine, i.e. a direct replacement for Lewandowski, will be signed. “There’s no discussion about it,” Kahn explained (quoted via “table football“) after the victory at RB Leipzig in the Supercup. There, Bayern ran with a dual leadership of Mané and Gnabry, both of whom are not trained center forwards. For the ex-goalkeeper, this system still fits. “Yes, I think today was strong. And it’s not like we don’t have options in the current team. Joshua Zirkzee is still there, Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting, then young Mathys Tel, who is training incredibly well. We would have options there.”

According to media reports, the Munich team signed Tel for a fee of EUR 20 million from Stade Rennes, which can increase by a further EUR 8.5 million thanks to bonuses. The base amount already makes it one of the most expensive transfers up to the age of 17 – if all bonus conditions were met, it would even overtake Jude Bellingham in terms of transfer, for which BVB transferred EUR 25 million to Birmingham City. Coach Julian Nagelsmann would be happy if Tel scored ten goals this season, he believes he can score 40 like Lewandowski “one day”.

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