Bayern Munich’s team council personally urged club officials to add roster depth

In Sport Bild’s print edition, the publication had a fascinating story regarding how involved the Bayern Munich team council was in asking for more roster depth.

Just ten days before the transfer deadline, the council, which is consists of Thomas Muller, Robert Lewandowski, David Alaba, Manuel Neuer, and Joshua Kimmich, met with club officials to express their concern over the loss of key players like Ivan Perisic, Thiago Alcantara, Philippe Coutinho, and of course, the man who only wins — Alvaro Odriozola. Specifically, the team council was worried that the club had not yet properly replenished the roster with enough depth to handle the season’s rugged schedule.

The group of players met with sporting director Hasan “Brazzo” Salihamidžić, CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, team president Herbert Hainer, and executive board member Oliver Kahn. In an interesting tidbit, this meeting followed manager Hansi Flick’s previous request to the club to bring in more players.

Photo by Franck Fife/Pool via Getty Images

Clearly, with both the players and manager asking for help, Bayern Munich’s club officials had to start lining up deals — which they did with Marc Roca, Bouna Sarr, Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting, Douglas Costa, and current Bayern Munich II midfielder Tiago Dantas. It should also be noted that prior to the meeting, Bayern Munich had already signed Leroy Sane, Tanguy Nianzou, and Alexander Nübel.

Anyway, the details of the summit between the players council and team officials were also included in the report. Sport Bild indicated that Manuel Neuer initiated the discussion. Neuer told the management group that the squad was not deep enough for the arduous schedule the players would be facing. This echoed exactly what Flick communicated to the club.

Lewandowski then backed up Neuer’s assessment of the roster, but Rummenigge — at a minimum — already knew about the Polish Hitman’s concern as the two had an impromptu one-on-one meeting after the Champions League final in Lisbon, at which Lewandowski credited the team’s triumph to their deep roster.

Rummenigge explained to the team council that the club had already spent a hefty sum (€45 million) on Sane and that there were budget limitations due to the effect COVID-19 had on the club’s finances. Regardless of that, the meeting definitely made an impression on the club’s roster planning.

Salihamidžić then fired up his “shadow team” file, explained to the team council how the process would work if the club were to make any new additions, and subsequently got to work.

Clearly, the request for help from the team council had a major impact on the club officials in the meeting. Impressively, Bayern Munich added Roca, Sarr, Choupo-Moting, Costa, and Dantas for what amounts to be a minimal investment.

Later this morning, we will detail what players — aside of those who made the jump to Bavaria — appeared on that list.