Bayern Munich are one of the world’s richest clubs with pockets deeper than a philosopher’s thoughts, meaning they can compete with the very biggest bank balances when it comes to signing the planet’s most pricey players.
But the Bundesliga’s record champions have shown with the likes of Philipp Lahm and Thomas Müller they can nurture fledging talent all the way into the top flight while their shrewd eye and finely tuned negotiating skills have also brought them some cut-price players who have — and perhaps will — write themselves into club legend.
bundesliga.com has picked out some of the very best bargains Bayern have snapped up in recent seasons, including arguably the top freebie football has ever seen.
Leon Goretzka, transfer fee: free
You can measure a player’s talent by the size of his transfer fee or how fans treat him. In the case of Goretzka, one of the very hottest properties in European football, it is how the fans at Schalke, who had worshipped him throughout the Hinrunde, reacted to news he would leave Gelsenkirchen for free in the summer. The whistles aimed at the young Germany international were measured at a deafening 104 decibels during the Matchday 19 draw with Hannover, a staggering cacophony on the scale of the immense talent Goretzka has shown at the Veltins Arena. The last über-talent to make the trip was Manuel Neuer, and with their club’s headline winter addition not yet 23, Bayern fans must be feeling like it is Christmas come late.
Leon #Goretzka, the story so far