Split
Former Bayern boss Karl-Heinz Rummenigge reveals the “iron law” for Bayern transfers, which is still applied today.
Munich – FC Bayern was German champion ten times in a row, and the Munich team lacked a real competitor for the title for ten years in a row. This is not only due to sporting but also to economic factors. However, the latter must also be used in a targeted and intelligent manner, for many years Karl-Heinz Rummenigge and Uli Hoeneß were considered die League manager. Now Rummenigge revealed what sets Bayern apart from the competition. In particular, an “iron” transfer law was sometimes decisive for the success.
| Karl Heinz Rummenigge |
| Born: September 25, 1955 in Lippstadt |
| Positions at FC Bayern: player, vice president, chairman of the board |
| Current position: UEFA board member, DFB advisor |
| Competitive games for FC Bayern: 422 (217 goals) |
Rummenigge: FC Bayern “would never sell a Bellingham or Nkunku”
Karl-Heinz Rummenigge collected a large number of titles as a player and as an official with Bayern, including several European Cups and sixteen championships. In a conversation with t-online the 67-year-old spoke not only about FCB’s position in an international comparison, but also about the “big difference” between the other financially strong clubs such as Borussia Dortmund or RB Leipzig and Bayern.
“These clubs have a different philosophy, also due to different economic conditions,” says Rummenigge, but he sees a difference in one point in particular. “Bayern Munich would never sell a Bellingham or a Nkunku,” says Rummenigge, with a view to the forthcoming transfers of the two top performers from Dortmund and Leipzig.
FC Bayern: Karl-Heinz Rummenigge explains the “iron law” of the record champions
The reason for this is a special transfer rule from Munich. “We always had the iron law: A player who is essential for the quality of the team has to stay, even if you have to put the money on the table for it,” explained Rummenigge and added: “I can also say exactly when we introduced that.”
The starting point of the “law” were two high offers about fifteen years ago, as Rummenigge remembers. “That was in 2008 when we got two unbelievable offers for Franck Ribéry: one from Spain and a quasi immoral one from England,” the Frenchman only switched from Olympique Marseille to Munich in the summer of 2007 for 30 million euros.
FC Bayern: Iron transfer law was created at Ribéry meetings at Tegernsee
“Uli Hoeneß, Karl Hopfner and I met Franck Ribéry at Tegernsee and said to him: ‘You can turn your head on your head, but you’ll stay with us. We are now making you a new contract offer and are going to the limits of what is possible.’ So we rejected a transfer at the time and made the said rule,” says the former Bayern boss.
For years, the Munich team turned down every offer for the winger, who continued to deliver top performances for the Munich team. Ribéry remained loyal to Bayern until 2019 before moving to Italy after twelve years. In October last year he ended his career at the age of 39.
“Find a boy like that”: Transfer law could also apply to Jamal Musiala
Karl-Heinz Rummenigge and Uli Hoeneß have also not been in charge of the fortunes of the record champions for a long time, although the latter is still active on the supervisory board. The transfer rule continues to apply under the current sporting leadership, which according to Rummenigge is due to Hoeneß. The honorary president is therefore still “of great importance for the club”, so “things that used to exist” are still there today.
Rummenigge substantiates the claim with the example of Jamal Musiala, who Bayern could “probably now sell for well over 100 million euros”, “but find a boy like that”. FCB will not give up the 19-year-old in the coming years if the law continues to be applied. “You can’t give up these players. For that you have to do everything possible.” (air)
