Bundesliga
Spectacular to the end: Hot transfer phase with a record
The most expensive Bundesliga purchase of all time to date: Bayern’s Harry Kane (r). photo
© Axel Heimken/dpa
The Bundesliga clubs are spending more money on changes this summer than they have in a long time. The transfer poker for Eintracht Frankfurt’s Kolo Muani caused confusion.
Harry hype in Munich, a striker for the BVB and excitement right up to the end about the striking Randal Kolo Muani in Frankfurt: The transfer period has also provided a lot of topics for conversation this summer and brought the Bundesliga a record.
With the purchase of super attacker Harry Kane, FC Bayern was the first German club to break the EUR 100 million transfer fee for a player. Even with the competition from Munich, plenty of money changed hands. The 18 first division clubs have invested more than 700 million euros in new professionals. It was more recently in the record summer of 2019 and thus before the Corona crisis.
Borussia Dortmund made the signing of top scorer Niclas Füllkrug from Werder Bremen perfect on the penultimate day of the transfer phase. Managers at other clubs have been working intensively on central squad construction sites until recently. Eintracht Frankfurt’s negotiations with Paris Saint-Germain over Kolo Muani’s move caused a lot of confusion. After it was initially said that the 24-year-old, who had recently skipped training in Frankfurt, would stay with Eintracht, there were consistent media reports late in the evening about a permanent change.
Union lands coup, prominent departure at BVB
On the other hand, 1. FC Union Berlin landed a coup. The Champions League newcomer from Köpenick secured the services of the Italian European champion Leonardo Bonucci on the so-called Deadline Day.
BVB had to cope with the most prominent and most painful departure. In Jude Bellingham, who switched to Real Madrid for the basic amount of 103 million euros, a real attraction of the Bundesliga turned his back. The new signings Felix Nmecha and Marcel Sabitzer should help to absorb the loss.
Bayern spent the most money – not only because of Kane, who showed his class with three goals in the first two league games right at the start of the season. Central defender Minjae Kim was worth 50 million euros to the industry leader. DFB Cup winner RB Leipzig invested not much less than Munich. However, the Saxons also had the highest revenues of all first division clubs through the sales of Josko Gvardiol to Manchester City (90 million), Dominik Szoboszlai to Liverpool FC (70) and Christopher Nkunku to FC Chelsea (60).
Transfer proceeds higher than ever
In total, before the possible Kolo Muani transfer to Paris, the Bundesliga clubs earned more than 800 million euros and thus recorded an increase as in the three previous years. The German clubs had never before achieved such high transfer proceeds as they did this summer during a changeover phase.
Internationally, the Premier League clubs were once again the biggest players on the transfer market. The transfers of Declan Rice to Arsenal FC and Moisés Caicedo to Chelsea FC were each worth more than 100 million euros to the London clubs. Overall, the clubs in the English elite league spent more than two and a half billion euros on new players.
Moves to Saudi Arabia cause a stir
Spectacular celebrity moves to Saudi Arabia, which has been criticized for its handling of human rights, also caused a sensation. Neymar, Karim Benzema and former Bayern pro Sadio Mané are now earning their money in the Saudi Pro League. Cristiano Ronaldo has been playing there since the winter.
Bayern coach Thomas Tuchel does not condemn the high-paying offers from the desert state. “I don’t want to become a moralizer. Once these offers from Saudi Arabia are on the table, then many people who are now raising their index fingers and condemning it would perhaps become weak themselves, because then there would be reasons for themselves provide for yourself or for a large family financially,” said the 50-year-old recently.
The fan interest group “Our Curve” sees the development very critically. “We football fans have been complaining for many years that our beloved sport is unrestrainedly chasing after quick money, and the example of Saudi Arabia shows how unscrupulous this is happening,” said Markus Sotirianos from “Unsere KURK” in the German press -Agency.
It is quite conceivable that the Superstars will get more new teammates in the coming days. After all, the transfer window in Saudi Arabia is open until September 20th. This could become a problem for top European clubs: they could no longer react to further changes there.