Bayern Munich, Musiala and the Club World Cup: What now? – DW – 07/07/2025

DW

a day ago

After Bayern Munich's elimination from the FIFA Club World Cup and Jamal Musiala's serious injury, questions are being asked about the club's sporting class, possible transfers and the future of Max Eberl.
Even though the competition is of little interest to many football fans in Germany, Bayern Munich would still have liked to have won it. As a result, their loss to Paris St. Germain in the quarterfinals comes as a disappointment, especially as it marks yet another defeat to a top European club.
In the Champions League last season, they lost to Aston Villa, Feyenoord and Inter Milan. At the Club World Cup, Bayern lost to Benfica before bowing out to PSG. Although Jamal Musiala's serious injury against Paris came as a shock - Musiala will be out for months after fracturing his leg and dislocating his ankle following a collision with PSG goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma - Bayern were well short of their best against the recent Champions League winners. There was a lack of incisiveness in the final third and Harry Kane didn't get into the game.
At least Bayern's trip to America proved a financial boost. They return home with around €53 million more in their account.
Musiala's long-term absence means head coach Vincent Kompany will be missing a central figure in his system. "It's not just about losing a player," said the Belgian. "We are losing a core of our style of play. Jamal is pure talent, his absence will be felt."
This injury makes Bayern's unsuccessful attempts to lure Leverkusen star Florian Wirtz to Munich all the more painful. Wirtz opted instead to join Premier League champions Liverpool. The news now also puts the lack of willingness to extend the contract of attacking all-rounder and club legend Thomas Müller in a different light. Sporting director Max Eberl is now likely to intensify the campaign for Stuttgart's 23-year-old attacker Nick Woltemade.
So far, the current transfer window has been less than ideal for Eberl. Following the failure to extend Leroy Sané's contract, who has since signed for Turkish team Galatasaray, reinforcements are needed, particularly on the left-hand side of the attack.
Wirtz was the preferred candidate, but Wirtz told Bayern he wanted to leave the Bundesliga and go to the Premier League, adding: "I wanted to go to one of the top three clubs in the world and, in my opinion, Liverpool was one of them." Bayern, on the other hand, are obviously not in his eyes.
After Wirtz, the club would have liked to sign Spanish winger Nico Williams, but he ended up extending his contract with Athletic Bilbao. In any case, the transfer fee that Bilbao had in mind would probably have been too high for Bayern, and the player would probably have preferred to move to Barcelona.
The attempt to bring Rafael Leao from AC Milan to Munich also came to nothing. Firstly, because the player was too expensive and secondly, because not all those responsible at Bayern were convinced of the Portuguese attacker's qualities. Other candidates include Bradley Barcola from PSG and Luiz Diaz from Liverpool, but here too there is a problem. Although both players have shown a willingness to move to Munich, their clubs have rejected a transfer.
That leaves Woltemade, but Stuttgart are reportedly demanding a transfer fee of up to €100m, prompting even Eberl to publicly ask: "Is Nick Woltemade worth it?"
Beyond that, there are also questions whether the tall striker is ready for Bayern after just one good season at Stuttgart. In the short term, he could help make up for the absence of Musiala, but when Germany's shooting star returns to fitness and Harry Kane is in form, there is no place for Woltemade in Bayern's starting eleven.
The bottom line is that Eberl continues to come up empty handed and appears unable to strengthen the squad as needed. So far, he has only signed central defender Jonathan Tah from Bayer Leverkusen and 19-year-old midfielder Tom Bischof from Hoffenheim.
The sporting director is also under pressure because he has not only been instructed by the board to make prominent additions to the squad, but also to generate transfer income through sales. He has not been able to achieve any success here either, as Leroy Sané's aforementioned departure on a free to Galatasaray proves.
It is also unclear how much decision-making power Eberl actually has, as he has repeatedly been thwarted in contract negotiations by Jan-Christian Dreesen, CEO of the club.
In the case of Thomas Müller, Uli Hoeneß publicly contradicted him. Eberl had said that Müller could decide his own future and that there was no need to negotiate if he wanted to stay. Hoeneß replied: "We are not at the bazaar." Ultimately, after 17 professional years in Munich, Müller left the club.
For coach Kompany, the focus will be on achieving success with the team on the pitch in his second season in charge. And while they dominated the Bundesliga last season, the need for improvement in cup competitions is apparent after an early exit in the German Cup and the failure to reach the quarterfinals of the Champions League.