Having samshed their club record transfer fee in the summer on former Tottenham striker Harry Kane, this season was always going to be a costly one for Bayern Munich. However, after spending €146.50 million over the course of the previous campaign on new arrivals, as per Transfermarkt, whether they would set a new club record this season was almost inevitable.
Nevertheless, their other summer signings of Kim Min-jae from Napoli for a reported €50m, and Daniel Peretz for €5m, meant that before the winter window opened, Der Rekordmeister had done just that.
Regardless, while there would have been little intention to strengthen this January, Bayern’s hand was almost forced. Without Kingsley Coman and Serge Gnabry for the foreseeable future, as well as their lack of depth in defensive areas, signings were needed if they aim to catch league leaders Bayer Leverkusen.
Therefore, the signing of Sacha Boey for €30m from Galatasaray saw the record champions’ expenditure skyrocket, while Eric Dier and the early arrival of Bryan Zaragoza added little cost to the overall figure.
Nonetheless, with the window over and Bayern’s spending now over, the total price of the transfer business they conducted can now be seen. A remarkable €184m was spent by the club this season, smashing last year’s record.
A truly phenomenal figure, but made to look far more reasonable when understanding the income they have generated through player sales.
With big names such as Lucas Hernández, Ryan Gravenberch, and Sadio Mané departing Bavaria for relatively large fees, Bayern received a total of €173.25m this season for player sales – another new record for the club. This means that overall, Der Rekordmeister only had a net spend of €10.75m.
As ever in Bavraia, records continue to get smashed, but these are not trends that the club will want to see continue. Purchases made out of necessity rather than desire will be the justification for the spending, and next season, it can be expected to be far quieter on the financial front.
However, it is Bayern Munich, so never say never.
GGFN | Will Shopland
