Bayern Munich has reached the final of the UEFA Champions League. But one of the fact of this team is that Philippe Coutinho, who is on loan at the club is expensive than the whole starting IX.
Coutinho who made a £142 million move to the Catalan club from Liverpool in 2018 is more expensive than the entire Bayern Munich starting line up that dismantled his parent club 8-2 in the Champions League quarter-final.
Although Bayern is one of the richest clubs in the world, the Bavarians have done some astute business in terms of transfers than spending a huge amount, unlike other top European clubs.
They have succeeded in getting good bargains from some big deals. One of such is the acquisition of Leroy Sane from Manchester City for €49m (£44.1m), Robert Lewandowski as a free agent, and Coutinho himself on a loan deal.
Although Sane can’t play for the Bavarians till next season, the Bavarians had taken advantage of a situation in Man City as the club is not ready to lose the player on a free transfer, since he was not ready for a new and improved deal.
Barcelona transfer policies different to that of Bayern Munich
In contrast, Barcelona has been spending big money and they are reportedly in huge debt of over 700 million Euros.
The Catalan giants would have gone for former Tottenham Hotspurs coach, Mauricio Pochentino, who was the favourite to replace Quique Setien. However, they went for Netherland boss, Ronald Koeman, a former player at the club.
Koeman is expected to steady the ship till former captain Xavi Hernadez is ready to come to take over in two years.
So, let’s look at the combined cost of the Bayern Xl that beat the Spanish giants 8-2 in the Champions League quarter-final.
Manuel Neuer
Neuer has been a top-notch goalie since moving to the Allianz Arena from Shalke 04. He is the most expensive player in the Bayern Xl that cost the Bavarians £27million to purchase in 2011.
With eight consecutive Bundesliga titles, the Germany number one has repaid that fee over the last nine years. He won 20 trophies, which includes the German FA Cup and the Champions League.
He’s also a four-time winner of the UEFA Goalkeeper of the Year award and second runners-up in the 2014 Ballon d’Or voting.
Joshua Kimmich
The utility man was quickly snapped up by Bayern from RB Leipzig while they were in Bundesliga 2 in 2015 for a reported fee of £7million.
Kimmich who can easily play in the backline or midfield filled the void left by former captain Philipp Lahm and has become indispensable on the team sheet at the Allianz Arena.
Jerome Boateng
After failing to cement a starting shirt at Manchester City, Boateng returned to Bayern Munich in a £12.8million deal in 2011.
He has since developed into one of the world’s best defenders and has made over 300 appearances for Bayern. He has also proven to be a good value for the past nine years.
David Alaba
Alaba is another steal by Bayern. The defender was purchased as a youth player from Austria for just £135,000 in 2008. This shows that Bayern don’t just target established first-team players. The Austrian has turned out to be a success at the club.
Alaba, who has a Nigerian origin started in Bayern’s youth system and eventually became one of the best left-backs in Europe before converting into a world-class center-back in 2019-20.
Alphonso Davies
Bayern’s scouting network is not just in Europe alone but across the globe. They snapped up Davies from MLS side Vancouver Whitecaps for just £9million in January 2019.
He had his breakout season in 2019-20 providing three goals and 10 assists from left-back.
Thiago Alcantara
Thiago had to move to Bayern after failing to break Barcelona’s midfield trio of Sergio Busquets, Xavi and Andres Iniesta.
He followed Pep Guardiola to the club in a £21.6million move and has since developed into one of the best midfielders in the world, having played a pivotal role in Bayern’s recent success.
Leon Goretzka
Bayern snapped up the midfielder on a free transfer after spending five years at Schalke.
Although he had a slow start in his Bayern career, the 25-year-old picked up and cemented a place in the starting IX, which has earned rave reviews for his performances this season.
Serge Gnabry
Gnabry is one of the surprise packages of the team, having struggled on loan at West Brom from Arsenal.
Gnabry eventually returned home to Bayern in a £6.6million deal in 2017 – the same summer Barcelona spent £135.5million on Ousmane Dembele.
From then on, the 25-year-old has was stronger in the last few years, as shown by his six goals against Tottenham and Chelsea in the Champions League in 2019-20. He will never forget this season in a hurry after banging in nine goals in nine Champions League, with the latest being a double in the semi-final of the Champions League against Lyon.
Thomas Muller
Muller is one of Bayern’s youth system successes having been with the team since he was 10. He climbed through the club ranks before making his first-team debut against Hamburg in 2008 and he never looked back.
Now 30, Muller has won numerous titles, which included the Champions League with the club and he has scored 199 goals for in 533 appearances.
Ivan Perisic
Perisic’s loan transfer to Bayern from Inter last season raised eyebrows. But Bayern proved that they are right with the move that involved paying the Serie A team, who is also in the Europa League final £4.5million loan fee.
The Croatian winger has proved his doubters wrong with eight goals and 10 assists in all competitions in 2019-20.
Robert Lewandowski
Lewandowski is another steal by the Bavarians on a free transfer after the Polish striker refused to sign a new contract at Borussia Dortmund in 2014.
Since his move to the Allianz Arena on a free transfer, he has proved to be one of the transfer coups of all time, scoring 246 goals in 288 appearances for the club.
He continued to be banging in the goals in the Champions League as he is already the top scorer in the competition with 15 goals in 9 games.
