Bayern Munich’s Thomas Müller comments on the “crazy” climate of the transfer market

Lionel Messi’s move to Paris Saint-Germain and Jack Grealish’s £100m move from Aston Villa to Manchester City have dominated the transfer headlines for the better part of the past month.

Manchester City is reportedly plotting a move for Tottenham’s Harry Kane before the window closes, which would be in excess of £100m if it does, in fact, materialize. Considering the financial losses caused by the coronavirus pandemic, one would certainly question how such transfer fees and wages can still be lodged around, and Bayern Munich’s Thomas Müller was among the skeptics in a recent interview with Der Spiegel (via Abendzeitung).

While they may be one of the most commercially successful clubs and brands, Bayern does not believe in the astronomical transfer fees that have been seen in the past couple of years in the transfer window. Fiscal responsibility and youth development are at the forefront of Bayern’s business model, and as a player who worked his way through Bayern’s youth system, Müller admitted he’s in awe of some of the fees he’s seen, even after the height of the coronavirus pandemic.

“I occasionally rub my eyes in amazement at how it all works,” Julian Nagelsmann said about the current climate of the transfer market for Europe’s elite clubs.

The Raumdeuter shares his new manager’s sentiment.

“That’s a bit crazy right now. You would have thought that the market would calm down a bit as a result of Corona. That doesn’t seem to be the case and we have to see what that means for us,” he remarked.

Nagelsmann had recently expressed his concern, specifically referencing Messi’s move to PSG, and City’s signing of Grealish and planned signing of Kane. Both Nagelsmann and Müller are justifiably worried about what it could mean for the future of Bayern. From a financial standpoint, if Bayern can’t compete with the PSG’s and the Manchester City’s of Europe’s elite, it could spell bad news in European competition.

“The competition abroad is gearing up more than we are. We just can’t get another, finished, international top star at the moment,” Müller stressed.

If the transfer market continues to conflate finances in an upward trend from the influence of the Qatari and Emirati ownerships of clubs like PSG and Manchester City, Bayern could be in grave danger of not being able to attract top class talents.