In the search for reinforcements, FC Bayern Munich is currently looking particularly closely at the English Premier League. Striker Harry Kane from Tottenham Hotspur and defender Kyle Walker from Manchester City are considered absolute dream players – there was also interest in Declan Rice, who ultimately switched to Arsenal. What experience does FC Bayern have with England imports?
So far, eight players have moved directly from England to Munich – including expensive flops and a direct hit. An overview.
FC Bayern, transfers from England: Alan McInally (1989)
FC Bayern used England for the first time in 1989: Scottish striker Alan McInally came from Aston Villa for the equivalent of 1.65 million euros. Together with the newly signed Serb Radmilo Mihailovic, he should take Munich’s attacking game to a new level. In fact, “Mic and Mac” celebrated an exhilarating Bundesliga debut in a win against the then impressive 1. FC Nürnberg, both scoring. Annoyingly, that was the high point.
McInally ended his first season with ten goals and the championship title. Also due to injury, only 13 competitive appearances and two goals followed in the following two years in all competitions. The then only 30-year-old then returned to his Scottish homeland to FC Kilmarnock on a free transfer.
McInally later worked temporarily as a scout for FC Bayern (but no players are known to have been discovered). He now works as a commentator for real (TV) and fictional (video game FIFA) football matches.
FC Bayern, transfers from England: Jürgen Klinsmann (1995)
Six years passed before FC Bayern dared to do it again: the next England import was, after all, in German. After a year at Tottenham Hotspur, the Swabian Jürgen Klinsmann switched to FC Bayern in 1995 for the equivalent of 1.4 million euros and then played a key role in the development of FC Hollywood.
The striker advanced to become one of the most important characters in the cinematic reality soap that took place on Säbener Straße at the time. Among other things, his constant skirmishes with Lothar Matthäus and his kicking in the advertising bin are legendary. Despite all the distractions, Klinsmann’s haul was impressive: in two years he scored 48 goals, won the league title and the UEFA Cup.
His return as a coach was less successful: although Klinsmann led FC Bayern into the modern age off the field in the 2008/09 season, he and his Buddhas were chased out of the court without a title before the end of the season after a number of bitter bankruptcies.
FC Bayern, transfers from England: Jérôme Boateng (2011)
Like Klinsmann before him, Jérôme Boateng was the third English importer to be a German citizen. In 2011, FC Bayern paid Manchester City a paltry 13.5 million euros for the then 22-year-old central defender. direct hit! Boateng was a key figure in the Munich defense for years, winning the treble in 2013 and 2020 before moving to Olympique Lyon on a free transfer in 2021.
Boateng’s ten years at the club were not only characterized by outstanding sporting achievements – oh, those brilliant diagonal passes! – but also from a basic skepticism of the conservative club bosses towards him. They didn’t really know what to do with Boateng’s extravagant “lifestyle”: Boateng should please come “back to earth” again, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge once publicly demanded.
FC Bayern, transfers from England: Pepe Reina (2014)
When FC Bayern was looking for a replacement for the untouchable regular keeper Manuel Neuer in 2014, coach Pep Guardiola quickly let his Barça connections play. Surprisingly, he steered the 31-year-old veteran Pepe Reina from Liverpool FC to Munich for three million euros. Like Guardiola, Reina La Masia comes from the legendary FC Barcelona talent factory.
However, Reina was hardly allowed to show his skills in Munich, he only played 193 competitive minutes. But that was enough for a dismissal. After just one season, he moved on to SSC Napoli and was the regular keeper there for a few years. Because of his lavish salary of rumored 4.5 million euros and various bonus payments, Reina went down in history as one of the most expensive permanent reservists at FC Bayern.
FC Bayern, transfers from England: Leroy Sané (2020)
Similar to what is currently happening with Kane, poker around Leroy Sané also degenerated into a month-long transfer saga. FC Bayern wanted to bring the young winger from Manchester City back to Germany in 2019 – but then he tore his cruciate ligament in the Supercup. Many rehabilitation units and even more speculation followed before Sané switched to Munich for 49 million euros the following year. So for a little less transfer fee than City had once transferred to FC Schalke 04.
It was on Sané’s debut – of all things! – against his youth club Schalke. The interaction with his new wing partner Serge Gnabry worked brilliantly. They both shone in the spectacular 8-0 win and, as “Sabry”, brought back memories of “Mic and Mac”, as some quickly put it. Although Sané and Gnabry were spared such a crash, “Sabry” was never heard from again.
In his three years in Munich so far, Sané has mostly been set, but has suffered from form fluctuations and has become the favorite scapegoat for many fans because of his supposedly lax body language.
FC Bayern, transfers from England: Omar Richards (2021)
When FC Bayern signed the then 23-year-old left-back Omar Richards on a free transfer from the English second division club FC Reading in 2021, the common soccer fan asked himself: why had nobody discovered him up until then? Presumably because Richards played roughly where he ranks in terms of performance.
At FC Bayern, the Englishman did not get beyond isolated brief appearances. After just one year, he moved on to Nottingham Forest, after all for the handsome transfer fee of 8.5 million euros. Due to a broken leg, he has not played a single competitive game for his new club.
FC Bayern, transfers from England: Sadio Mané (2022)
Celebrated last summer as the absolute king transfer, Sadio Mané flopped in a remarkable manner. After a promising start, the Senegalese striker was injured in November and, after recovering in the second half of the season, never regained his form. The low point was his physical attack against teammate Sané.
Just a year after FC Bayern transferred 32 million euros to Liverpool FC for Mané, the Munich team is desperately looking for a buyer. Coach Thomas Tuchel has given him little hope of playing time recently, clubs from Saudi Arabia are said to be interested.
FC Bayern, transfers from England: João Cancelo (2023)
The signing of João Cancelo was also considered a coup last winter, but the six-month loan was not entirely satisfactory. After Cancelo lost his regular place at Manchester City, he was not undisputed in Munich either. Although his footballing qualities occasionally flashed, the full-back presented himself too unstable overall.
FC Bayern did not exercise the purchase option of 70 million euros after the loan expired. The 29-year-old Portuguese is currently looking for a club. FC Barcelona is the favorite for a commitment.
