“They have no money but buy every player!”: Bayern Munich coach Julian Nagelsmann frustrated by Robert Lewandowski’s move to FC Barcelona

Speaking to the press ahead of the first preseason friendly against DC United, Bayern Munich coach Julian Nagelsmann sounded rather frustrated by the fact that Robert Lewandowski was signed by FC Barcelona this summer.

Our very own Jake Fenner crammed himself into DC United’s tiny press room to catch the quote live:

Of course, Nagelsmann has plenty of reason to be frustrated, as despite their amazing summer Bayern have undoubtedly been dealt a blow by losing a striker like Lewy. However later in the same presser, the coach assured fans that with Sadio Mane, Bayern would still find a way to keep scoring goals.

Nagelsmann isn’t the first person in football to express confusion over how Barcelona can keep signing players despite their ... precarious financial position. Earlier in the summer transfer guru Fabrizio Romano was asked the same question. Here’s how he replied:

Question: Where will Barcelona get the funds to sign Raphinha?

Romano: “I’ll be honest, I don’t know. People in football don’t know, the agents don’t know ... Nobody knows how they can manage so much money right now.”

Of course, the answer turned out to be “levers” — specifically, selling chunks of the club’s future merchandising and TV revenue to make up for losses in the previous years. However, even with those funds, Barcelona reportedly want to offload Frenkie de Jong to Manchester United to free up some of the wage bill to register new signings. How Joan Laporta is managing this financial house of cards no one can say.

In case you crave more analysis of Bayern Munich, check out our latest podcast episode. We discussed the fallout of Robert Lewandowski’s transfer to FC Barcelona, covering everything including potential lineups, remaining transfers, and expectations for Nagelsmann and the team. Listen to it below or at this link.

If you guys like what you hear, PLEASE vote for us on the World Soccer Talk — Best Club Podcast award. Go on that page and vote for Bavarian Football Works. We cannot lose to a Spurs pod!