“Don’t make sense”
Bavaria President Erbost after the loss of basketball talent
14.06.2025 – 10:53 a.m.Reading time: 2 min.
FC Bayern’s basketball players will have to do without one of their best talents in the future – without compensation. The club president finds clear words.
FC Bayern loses a promising talent with Ivan Kharchenkov – and does not get a cent for it. The youngster changes to a US college. A development that not only worries the Munich.
Club President Herbert Hainer sees American colleges a serious problem for European basketball in the increasing change of young players. “We are in discussion with the Fiba. It has to go quickly now,” he told the “Munich Merkur/tz”.
The current situation is “clearly” alarming, says Hainer, “it makes no sense that we take a lot of money in hand to train the players – only so that they then go at 18 and we receive no compensation.” This could “not be the future”.
In principle, the Bavaria President has no objection to stays abroad. Hainer said that such experience could also have advantages. “But then there must be at least an allowance. That is the same in football.”
The background: US colleges are now allowed to pay their athletes and thus become a much more attractive contact station for European talents. So Ivan Kharchenkov also decided to switch to the University of Arizona.
The situation is now also brooding international top clubs. According to Hainer, he considers Real Madrid to consider his young talent work to be understandable. In view of the increasing costs in the Euroleague, the idea is obvious to rethink the commitment in the young area. “But hiring the work cannot be right in the land of the world champion,” said Hainer. “You have to give the youth the opportunity to prove yourself at a high level.”
Bavaria’s managing director Marko Pešić had also warned of the consequences of developments in college basketball. “The youth basketball in Europe is under fire through the NCAA. What is currently happening is catastrophic,” said the former international in the club’s own podcast “Open Court”.
In addition to Kharchenkov, other German talents are also drawn to the USA: Hannes Steinbach from the Würzburg Baskets goes to the University of Washington, Johann Grünloh from Rasta Vechta joins the University of Virginia.