Union Berlin’s Max Kruse reveals interest from Bayern Munich back in 2019

Max Kruse is a name that any proper Bundesliga fan should be familiar with. The 32-year old recently returned to Union Berlin’s bench after spending two months on the sidelines through injury. He’d been off to a cracking start for the Eisern Union, scoring 6 goals and providing 5 assists from 10 Bundesliga appearances after he was signed by Union at the conclusion of a brief spell with Fenerbache in the Turkish Super Liga.

On a recent episode of “Matchday Winner” podcast on Kickbase (Tz), Kruse revealed that there was interest from Bayern Munich in the summer of 2019. He revealed that sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic had contacted him via a phone message, though he doesn’t recall if it was an actual phone call, voicemail, or text message at the time. There was definitely contact from Brazzo, Kruse just said he’s “not quite sure now,” what, exactly, the form of contact was.

At the time, Kruse’s contract with Werder Bremen was expiring and Bayern was in the market for a backup striker for Robert Lewandowski. There was also interest from Liverpool in the Premier League and Kruse admitted that “talking to Jürgen Klopp was awesome too. Of course I would have done that.”

He jokingly said, “I’m still sitting in front of my cell phone,” in the event that Bayern should reignite their interest. Of course, he’s no stranger to causing Bayern problems in the form of their opposition during his spells at Werder Bremen, SC Freiburg, Borussia Monchengladbach, and VfL Wolfsburg. While he was flattered by the interest in the summer of 2009, Kruse was realistic and said that it’s not uncommon at all for a big club like Bayern to have a lengthy list of candidates they’re interested in going after in any given position. “At large clubs ten people are called to have them on hold. Then it will be decided who to take,” he explained.