After the agreement with FC Barcelona in the tug-of-war over Robert Lewandowski, FC Bayern can now turn to the final phase of squad planning. With the new certainty and the millions from Spain in their luggage, a new striker could soon appear in Munich. CEO Oliver Kahn now commented on some high-profile names that have recently been traded – including Harry Kane and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Cristiano Ronaldo will not succeed Robert Lewandowski at Bayern Munich. Sports director Hasan Salihamidzic quickly turned down the Portuguese superstar, who was reportedly offered by his advisor Jorge Mendes at Bayern Munich.
Oliver Kahn now said on the sidelines of the team presentation on Saturday afternoon in conversation with “picture” once again his admiration for “CR7”, but remained in the no to a transfer: “I love Cristiano Ronaldo and everyone knows what a fantastic player he is. But every club has a certain philosophy and I’m not sure if it would be the right signal for Bayern and the Bundesliga if we got him now.”
Such a change “does not necessarily fit with the ideas that we are pursuing here at FC Bayern”. Although Ronaldo once again demonstrated his marksmanship (18 league goals) for Manchester United last season, at the age of 37 he has probably finally reached the home stretch of his career.
Harry Kane to Bayern? “Sure, an absolute top striker”
Harry Kane is significantly younger at 28 years old. Tottenham Hotspur’s attacker was also recently traded at Bayern Munich. “Sure, an absolute top striker,” said Kahn of the Englishman, who has already scored a whopping 247 goals in 385 for Spurs.
The Munich boss, possibly also with a view to his working paper valid until 2024, added: “But that’s all futuristic.” Tottenham definitely don’t want to give up their top scorer this summer, according to English media reports.
For FC Bayern, that means: “Now we have to look to get the squad together for the current season. Let’s see what else happens.” Thanks to the EUR 45 million base fee from the Lewandowski transfer and the annual salary savings of around EUR 20 million, the Munich team has new financial leeway. So how does the German record champion invest his money?
Kahn confirms: FC Bayern in exchange for de Ligt and Laimer
Two personalities are at the top of the list of priorities at FC Bayern: central defender Matthijs de Ligt from Juventus and midfielder Konrad Laimer from RB Leipzig. Both players are “in exchange” with the clubs, so Kahn. In addition, the 17-year-old center forward Mathys Tel is associated with the series champion. Due to his age, the Frenchman should be seen as a medium-term reinforcement for the time being.
In the case of Dutch defender de Ligt, the transfer fee from Turin has reportedly stood in the way. 80 million euros are said to be demanded, FC Bayern is currently willing to pay 60 million euros. Kahn: “De Ligt is a very, very interesting player, also in terms of his mentality. Now you have to see how the whole thing develops.”
In the case of the Austrian Laimer, who is well known to head coach Nagelsmann from his time in Leipzig, FC Bayern failed with an initial offer, according to “Sky”. The Saxons are said to be demanding up to 30 million euros for Laimer, who is only tied to Leipzig for one year. “We are also in exchange here and continue to talk to each other,” said Oliver Kahn simply.