Daily Schmankerl: News on Gareth Bale and Mauricio Pochettino; Südkurve Toronto’s Klassiker day was WILD; and MORE!

Bale will get to pick his next team (AS)

Allegedly outgoing Real Madrid star Gareth Bale will have the ability to pick his next destination according to a report out of Spain.

Gareth Bale is one of the players Zinedine Zidane will not be counting on next season. The French manager is planning a revolution in the summer and one of the most significant moves will be the Welsh attacker. Real Madrid could sell players for up to €500 million with a large chunk of that coming for the player they bought for €100 million six years ago. On Monday, José Ángel Sánchez and Bale’s agents, Jonathan Barnett and Luis Alonso, ate in Madrid where they discussed his future.

The director told Barnett and Alonso of their plans to transfer the player but they thanks Barnett and the player for the good behavior and commitment to the cause shown by Bale during his time in Madrid. The meeting was cordial and they said Bale would be allowed to chose his next club provided the offers that arrive are more or less the same.

Interestingly, the same potential suitors are being bandied about as Bayern Munich and Manchester United appear to be the most likely destinations for the oft-injured 29-year-old talent.

Manchester United and Bayern Munich are the two clubs most interested in the 29-year-old and a deal with the Premier League side might go hand in hand with a move for Paul Pogba, who has been touted as a summer arrival in Spain. Bayern are ready to spend unprecedented amounts of money in the summer as they look to rejuvenate their side and win the Champions League along with reasserting themselves in Germany.

Pochettino a candidate for Bayern? (Sport Witness)

Despite Niko Kovac’s relative success this season, the whispers are out there that Tottenham Hotspur coach Mauricio Pochettino might have some interest in a career stop with Bayern.

There were quite frankly ridiculous claims in recent days that AC Milan are prepared to offer Pochettino a £300m transfer kitty as a tempter. They’re not, they don’t have it, it’s pretty certain they won’t spend half that, maybe a quarter. Poch’s impressive work with Tottenham has made Bayern Munich ‘tempt’ him, according to Mundo Deportivo journalist Miguel Rico, who is well connected. Bayern have Niko Kovac as their current manager at the Allianz Arena, but the German club would be willing to change, despite the Croatian having a contract until 2021.

Bayern still scoping Onyekuru (Sport Witness)

Bayern will reportedly have scouts at the the Intercontinental Derby between Galatasaray and Fenerbahce this weekend to check out Everton loanee Henry Onyekuru. Bayern has been linked to the 21-year-old winger in the past, but interest could be spiking a bit.

Fotospor report Bayern Munich will watch Everton loanee Henry Onyekuru this weekend when Galatasaray take on Fenerbahce in the Istanbul derby. The youngster has been linked with the Bundesliga champions in recent weeks after impressing whilst on loan at Galatasaray this season.

ICYMI: We’ve got a podcast! (Bavarian Football Works)

We finally cut through the red tape, sobered up, and put together a podcast. Give it a listen or I will personally hunt send Gritty and Gabe Kapler (take him, please!) to haunt your dreams!

Südkurve Toronto’s Klassiker experience was wild (Bavarian Football Works)

One of the great things about the Daily Schmankerl is how much of the fan experience we get to hear about. The group in Toronto had themselves quite a day last Saturday.

After celebrating Bayern’s 5-0 thrashing of Borussia Dortmund, the group headed over to BMO Field where it had a special meeting with Bayern legend Bastian Schweinsteiger, whose Chicago Fire earned a 2-2 draw with Toronto FC that same day.

In the gallery below you’ll see Schweinsteiger greeting Südkurve Toronto president Ryan Tune and also with the group among a few other shots.

Grid View

Thanks to BFW community member RLD for sharing the pics and the experience. RLD gave us his perspective on the day:

The event was organized by Sudkurve Toronto, at Williams Landing restaurant. Ryan Tune and Jimmy Czikk did all of the heavy lifting. There were about 300 people out, and our sister clubs, Mia San Kitchener Waterloo and FC Bayern - Buffalo Fan Club, also joined us for the event.

Oddly enough there were two Dortmund fans at the restaurant as they just happen to go there to watch matches. They were good guys and quite good about us effectively taking over their bar for the day. The atmosphere was completely awesome with singing and cheering from the first whistle to the end. There were four generations of fans present, very much a family friendly event, but that did not stop us from consuming a great deal of beer!

Thiago turns 28 (@FCBayernEN)