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Bayern Munich are usually among the top spenders in Europe and we’ve checked in on their most expensive signing from every season since 2010-11.
Spending big sums of money is certainly no guarantee of success, but generally speaking, Bayern tend to get things right in the transfer market.
To illustrate this, we’ve checked in on their most expensive signing from every season to see where they all are these days.
After impressing at Hoffenheim, Gustavo was snapped up by Bayern in January 2011 for €17million and made 100 appearances for the club during his two-and-a-half years in Munich.
The Brazil international was sold in 2013, months after a brief cameo appearance in the Champions League final, with Wolfsburg somehow beating Arsenal to his signature.
Something of a footballing nomad, Gustavo went on to play for Marseille, Fenerbahce and Al-Nassr before returning to his home country with Sao Paulo – where he remains to this day.
One of the best signings in Bayern’s history.
Signed from Schalke for €30million, Neuer was Bayern’s No.1 throughout their historic 11-in-a-row run of Bundesliga title wins and is considered one of the best goalkeepers of all time.
In November 2023, the 37-year-old signed a one-year contract extension that will keep him at Bayern until 2025. He’s still class.
After signing from Athletic Bilbao for €40million, Martinez won everything on offer with Bayern and became an integral part of the side under a string of managers.
Following an illustrious career in Europe, Martinez made the switch to Qatar back in 2021. He’s since racked up 59 appearances for Qatar SC who currently sit in mid-table.
There was plenty of excitement when Bayern signed Gotze from Dortmund for €37million; the playmaker was at the peak of his powers and would score the winner in a World Cup final less than 12 months later.
But his career stalled in Munich and it later turned out that he was suffering from myopathy, preventing his muscles from working properly. Not ideal.
Discovering what was malfunctioning in his body helped Gotze to get his career back on track and, after returning to Dortmund, he enjoyed a rejuvenating spell with PSV Eindhoven before returning to the Bundesliga with Eintracht Frankfurt.
After Pep Guardiola’s first full season in Germany, Bayern backed him with the acquisitions of Xabi Alonso and Robert Lewandowski.
But neither were the club’s most expensive signing that summer. That was Benatia, who was coming off the back of a fine season at Roma and cost €28million.
Sadly, the former Morocco international never quite settled at Bayern and made just 29 Bundesliga appearances in two years before leaving for Juventus.
These days he’s serving as Marseille’s sporting director. Pretty good going considering he’s only 37 years of age.
“If I have to go to war, I would definitely take Arturo with me,” Guardiola reminisced of his one season working with the firebrand midfielder, his last big-name signing at Bayern.
“I have very good memories of him at Bayern, he is a nice and extremely competitive man. You can kick Vidal in the chest and he will always put his face if needed.”
Vidal stayed at Bayern for three seasons after arriving for €39.25million, winning the requisite three Bundesliga titles, and later continued his tour of Europe’s elite clubs by going to Barcelona and Inter Milan.
Earlier in 2024, the 36-year-old rejoined boyhood club Colo-Colo in Chile.
Signed for €38 million from Borussia Dortmund, honouring Bayern’s tradition of picking apart their Bundesliga rivals like predatory hawks, Hummels spent three years in Munich before returning to Dortmund.
In fairness, the centre-back won the Bundesliga in each of his seasons with Bayern but it just felt wrong seeing him wearing that red shirt.
The 35-year-old has made almost 200 appearances for Dortmund since 2019 and is tipped to start for Germany when they host Euro 2024.
After joining from Lyon for an initial transfer fee of €41.5 million, Tolisso had his best season at Bayern under Carlo Ancelotti but soon fell down the pecking order when the legendary boss departed.
In 2022, the World Cup-winning midfielder returned to Lyon after five years (and as many Bundesliga titles) with the Bavarians, and is now a regular starter back at his hometown club.
Kovac and Bayern completed an exceptionally shrewd piece of business in the summer of 2018 when they snapped up Davies from the Vancouver Whitecaps for just €14million.
He quickly went from promising winger to possibly the most electric full-back in world football at Bayern, flourishing after a year or so when he was forced to deputise for the injured David Alaba at left-back in 2019-20.
He proved key to their treble win under Flick and has been electric ever since.
Still only 23, the Canada international’s current deal expires in the summer of 2025 and it’s believed that Real Madrid are keen on completing a deal at cut price.
Bayern will reportedly sell if the Canadian doesn’t agree to fresh terms before this summer. That feels like a mistake.
Despite coming through the academy at Atletico Madrid, Hernandez left in the summer of 2019 when Bayern coughed up a club-record €80million to sign him.
He won the treble in his first season, but things went downhill after that due to long injury layoffs and managerial changes.
Their record signing left in the summer of 2023, moving back to his home country of France to sign for Paris Saint-Germain in a €40million deal.
Bit of a miss, this one.
Sane always looked destined to become one of the best players in the world during his early days at Manchester City – and there was surprise when the club sold him to Bayern for just €49million.
The Germany international hasn’t quite become a world-beater in Munich, but his numbers have always been respectable and Bayern look considerably less threatening when he’s not on the pitch.
After a scintillating 2023-24 campaign, there is some speculation surrounding his long-term future with his contract at Bayern set to expire in 2025.
The 28-year-old has even been linked with a sensational return to Man City by Bild. Watch this space.
Upamecano had established a reputation as one of Europe’s most promising young defenders working under Nagelsmann at Leipzig. As such, it was no surprise to see him become the coach’s first big-money signing, joining Bayern for €42.5million.
The France international has had his moments over the past couple of years but there’s a feeling that he hasn’t quite lived up to his billing – as evidenced by finding himself usurped by Eric Dier in recent weeks.
De Ligt burst onto the scene in 2018-19, looking like a potentially generation-defining talent in Ajax’s run to the Champions League semi-finals.
He made a big-money move to Juventus and spent three years with the Old Lady, but got itchy feet and was eventually sold at a small loss – albeit becoming Juilen Nagelsmann’s all-time most expensive signing at an €80million fee.
“First of all, the club,” De Ligt explained ESPN on why he joined.
“The board showed me they really wanted me, that says a lot because it’s important for me. The club suits me: attacking football, hard training, high intensity. That’s what I’m looking for.
“I knew about the coach [Julian Nagelsmann] before because he’s a famous coach in the football world. I know how he plays and that he’s really good in training young players. That’s good, but the most important thing was the confidence that the club had in me.”
De Ligt hasn’t quite delivered on his Ajax promise, but remains a good player on his day – the Netherlands international performed well in Bayern’s win over Arsenal in the 2023-24 Champions League quarters.
Bayern Munich coughed up €95million to pry Kane away from Tottenham in 2023, which looked to restore Bayern as a European threat and guarantee Kane some silverware.
The England captain has delivered on his end, sitting on 44 goals in all competitions at the time of writing, but his first season at the club ended up being the first time since 2012 that Die Roten have failed to win the Bundesliga.
There’s still a chance Bayern win the Champions League, but Kane must be cursing his luck.
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