Bayern Munich’s 10 biggest sales of all time
FT Desk
- Updated: 23 Sep 2023 10:18 CDT
- 9 min read
Bayern Munich are German football's dominant force, with a record 31 Bundesliga titles to their name, and with that success has come significant financial resources.
Some of Europe’s top talents have played for Bayern - some bought, some produced at home - meaning that when their journey at Allianz Arena ends, they can fetch some handsome fees.
Here, Football Transfers brings you the top 10 sales that Bayern have made in their illustrious history.
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10. Renato Sanches - €20m (Lille, 2019)
Renato Sanches never quite worked out at Bayern, despite the €35m that was shelled out to prise him from Benfica.
An 18-year-old at the time, Sanches arrived on a high after winning the Euros with Portugal that summer, being named young player of the tournament, but he never kicked on from there.
The midfielder made only six starts in the league and was loaned out to Swansea City the following season in a move that quickly became famous for its failure.
Sanches would spend one more season at Bayern before being sold to Lille for €20m, though the player has since banked a Ligue 1 title in 2021 and a move to PSG.
9. Mario Mandzukic - €22m (Atletico Madrid, 2014)
In fine form for Wolfsburg, Mario Mandzukic sealed a move to Bayern in 2012 and became a key player, scoring 33 goals in 54 games across two Bundesliga seasons.
The Croatian overtook Mario Gomez to be the leading No.9, lifting two league titles and the Champions League during his time in Bavaria.
His form ultimately caught the eye of Atletico Madrid and Bayern were happy to pass him on to the Spanish capital for €22m at almost twice the price they bought him.
It was only a temporary stint under Diego Simeone, though, as he jumped ship to Juventus after just one season.
8. Mario Gotze - €22m (Borussia Dortmund, 2016)
Mario Gotze was one of Europe’s hottest prospects when he emerged in Jurgen Klopp’s brilliant Dortmund side of the early 2010s.
As Bayern tend to do, they took their rivals’ big star and made him their own in 2013, but they would return the favour after three seasons, giving him back to Dortmund for €22m and a minimal financial loss overall.
Gotze never quite made the next big step in his career, slowly falling out of favour in Bayern’s midfield and ended up back in yellow and black in 2016.
He has since turned out for PSV Eindhoven and Eintracht Frankfurt, with his legacy long since cemented with his World Cup-winning goal for Germany in 2014.
7. Thiago Alcantara - €22m (Liverpool, 2020)
Another player that has won league titles for fun throughout his career, Thiago spent a brilliant seven seasons at Bayern after arriving from Barcelona in 2013, with then-coach Pep Guardiola saying it was "Thiago or nothing" in the transfer market that summer.
The Spaniard won the league in every single season and left the club a Champions League winner after a Man of the Match display in the 2020 final against PSG.
The best partners to create these memories. FCBayern fans, teammates, and everyone involved... Danke!!! #MiaSanMia 🤜🏽🤛 @FCBayern
⬇️📸https://t.co/CpZ6PMB7tu pic.twitter.com/IO8LYJG0Th— Thiago Alcantara (@Thiago6) September 18, 2020
Seeking a new challenge, Thiago picked Liverpool as his preferred destination, and Bayern did brilliantly to get €22m for a 29-year-old whose contract had only 12 months left to run.
Thiago has settled into his stride at Anfield after an injury-addled start, but his could nonetheless be one of the best sales on the list.
6. Owen Hargreaves - €25m (Manchester United, 2007)
Owen Hargreaves had a rather strange route for an England midfielder, coming through Bayern’s youth set up after beginning his career in his native Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
Debuting in 2000, he won the Champions League and the Bundesliga in his first full senior season with the club, going on to add another three league titles during his time in Munich.
A fully-fledged England international by that point, Hargreaves earned himself a big money move to Manchester United in 2007, but injuries halted any sort of momentum he was building.
Hargreaves missed over 100 games in all competitions due to knee complaints alone across three seasons at Old Trafford, and a major thigh issue in the 2010/11 season was the final straw has he crossed town to rivals Manchester City on a free transfer the following summer, making that €25m fee look pretty good from a Bayern perspective.
5. Toni Kroos - €25m (Real Madrid, 2014)
Toni Kroos was allegedly on the cusp of a move to Manchester United before Louis van Gaal reportedly decided against it.
Real Madrid then took advantage to land the midfielder for a fee of €25m which has proved to be an absolute snip for a player who has since won the Champions League on four occasions.
Bayern haven’t exactly performed poorly since his departure, but allowing him to leave for a relatively minor fee looks to have been a big mistake in retrospect.
4. Mats Hummels - €31m (Borussia Dortmund, 2019)
Bayern have a history for hoovering up as much talent from around Germany as they can, especially from their fiercest rivals.
But, in this case, they allowed one of their influential defenders to return to Borussia Dortmund a few years after returning from the SIgnal Iduna Park, BVB paying €31m to bring him back to his second home in 2019.
Hummels was arguably past his best by the time Bayern let him go but he has proved since his return to BVB that he still would have been a useful player to have in the squad.
Instead, he is back at Dortmund, where he battled his way back into the German national team set-up for Euro 2020 after a period of absence.
3. Ryan Gravenberch - €40m (Liverpool, 2023)
Ryan Gravenberch was linked to a number of clubs through the course of 2023. Struggling at Bayern Munich and in search of game time, he finally landed a big move. Liverpool stumbled up the cash and paid handsomely for the former Ajax star.
The Dutchman is now looking to help rejuvenate the Liverpool midfield.
2. Douglas Costa - €40m (Juventus, 2018)
Douglas Costa was the biggest amount of money Bayern have ever received for a player before Lewandowski's move to Barcelona this summer, costing Juventus €40m in 2018.
The Brazil winger arrived at Bayern with a sparkling reputation from his time at Shakhtar Donetsck, signed as a long-term replacement for wing wonders Franck Ribery and Arjen Robben.
However, he failed to meet expectations which is why they were happy to let him to go Juventus for such a fee after an initial loan spell in Turin.
He would, rather strangely, return to Bayern on loan for the 2020/21 season in a deal that was allegedly not sanctioned by then head coach Hansi Flick.
1. Robert Lewandowski - €50m (Barcelona, 2022)
One of Bayern's sorest losses, but at least their most lucrative, Lewandowski left for Barcelona this summer after 344 goals in 375 games in all competitions - Barca shelling out €50 million for a player who turned 34 in August.
Lewy came close to ruining his Bayern reputation with his pleas to leave the German champions, going public with his desire to join Barcelona when on international duty with Poland.
Bayern have spent some of the money on Sadio Mane from Liverpool, but coach Julian Nagelsmann has since admitted there wasn't a suitable No.9 on the market as a replacement.
Lewandowski has hit the ground running at Barca with nine goals in seven games in all competitions so far.
This assist from Lewandowski 🔥 pic.twitter.com/UtXnfTjYpU
— Football Transfers (@Transfersdotcom) August 7, 2022
Read more about: Bundesliga, Bayern, Artur, Arturo Vidal, Douglas Costa, Mario Götze, Mats Hummels, Mehdi Benatia, Portu, Renato Sanches, Robert Lewandowski, Thiago Alcantara, Toni Kroos
