Transfer pressure prevails at FC Bayern

Max Eberl unexpectedly returned to Germany from the USA, presumably to intensify FC Bayern Munich's squad planning. After the withdrawal of desired players such as Nico Williams and Florian Wirtz, pressure is growing on the sporting director.

The days when big names flew to FC Bayern Munich are over. These days, it's the sporting director who has to fly to get to his squad. And so, Max Eberl left the USA on Thursday evening, as coach Vincent Kompany has since confirmed. The reason for this is said to be intensive transfer talks. Accordingly, the sporting director and his advisors in Munich intend to continue working intensively on squad planning.

The fact that the sporting director has to travel across the Atlantic shortly before the second Club World Cup match against Boca Juniors on Saturday is likely a reaction to the events of the past few weeks, when a barrage of cancellations from top football players has been a problem.

Above all, the big names, the desired candidates, were left out. The most recent example is Nico Williams. The 22-year-old winger appears to prefer staying in Spain and is moving from Bilbao to FC Barcelona. Florian Wirtz, who was supposed to work magic with Jamal Musiala in FCB's dream world, also declined .

This was despite Wirtz's father reportedly even visiting Uli Hoeneß himself at Tegernsee. All efforts were ultimately in vain: Wirtz is moving to the Premier League with Liverpool FC.

Current headlines ("Bayern rejected," "Bayern frustration," or "FCB receives heavy transfer rejection") also recall the odyssey that unfolded last year. In the search for a coach to succeed Thomas Tuchel, one rejection letter after another landed in the mailbox on Säbener Straße: Xabi Alonso, Julian Nagelsmann, Ralf Rangnick, Oliver Glasner—they all turned down FCB.

This caused a lot of ridicule online, and football fans are still amused by the unsuccessful efforts of the once so attractive FC Bayern.

The charisma that helped FC Bayern Munich attract top players in the past has now faded. And with it, criticism of Max Eberl has grown louder. Eberl did manage to secure contract extensions for Joshua Kimmich, Jamal Musiala, Alphonso Davies, and Manuel Neuer – albeit at a high price. Landing Jonathan Tah on a free transfer and the €35 million signing for Mathys Tel are also highly credited to Eberl.

But the negative points are piling up on Munich's high-priority list, and there seems to be a lack of sensitivity when dealing with the really big names: the back and forth in the case of Thomas Müller , who is leaving the club after the Club World Cup, the transfer drama surrounding Florian Wirtz, the departure of Leroy Sané to Galatasaray Istanbul and now Nico Williams too.

As with last year's coaching search, the focus now is on Plan B, Plan C, or Plan D – and thus also on Rafael Leao (AC Milan) and Bradley Barcola (Paris Saint-Germain). Barcola, in particular, is said to be at the top of the sporting director's to-do list. The French international could fit perfectly into Eberl and Christoph Freund's plans.

Above all, the newly crowned treble winner could fill the void left by Leroy Sané. The problem, however, is that PSG sporting director Luis Campos is desperate to keep the youngster, as his contract doesn't expire until 2028. The tug-of-war over talent is likely to continue into many more rounds in the coming weeks. But 2024 has shown one thing: Plan B, C, or D isn't always the worst – just look at Vincent Kompany.

• Bundesliga
• football
• FC Bayern Munich