Wheeling And Dealing: How Salihamidzic reshuffled Bayern Munich without breaking the bank

Bayern Munich have been one of the biggest spenders on this summer's transfer market but ultimately sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic managed to restructure the side without breaking the bank.

It has been a remarkable transfer window by Bayern Munich, one that earned sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic a new contract until 2026. The club signed Matthijs de Ligt, Sadio Mané, Mathys Tel, Ryan Gravenberch, and Noussair Mazraoui for an overall €137.5 million, enough to rank the club among the top 10 spenders in the summer transfer window. 

Eight teams have spent more, six of them from the Premier League. Among the non-English teams, only Barcelona (€153m) and Paris Saint-Germain (€147.5m) have thrown more money around this summer. 

Another glimpse at the Transfermarkt list of the world’s biggest transfer spenders also highlights another aspect. Among the top 10, only Man City managed to break even. The English champions earned a €20.4 million profit by selling players like Gabriel Jesus, Oleksandr Zinchenko (both Arsenal), and Raheem Sterling (to Chelsea). Essentially, star names that are no longer needed by Pep Guardiola but can still generate significant fees on the overheated Premier League market.