Bayern chief's harsh words for Newcastle after £65m Nick Woltemade deal

Cameron Smith

• 29 Sep 2025 11:00 CDT
• 3 min read

News

Bayern Munich legend Karl-Heinz Rummenigge has labelled Newcastle United “idiots” for spending (£65.48m) €75 million on Nick Woltemade this summer.

The Germany international, 23, was one of Bayern’s primary transfer targets ahead of the 2025-26 campaign, and they submitted three official bids to VfB Stuttgart in an attempt to bring him to the Allianz Arena.

Current ETV

Nick Woltemade

F (C)

Newcastle

Nick Woltemade

F (C)

Newcastle

€37M

ETV Range

€33.3M - €40.7M

View full profile

However, Bayern were ultimately unable to finance a move and they eventually opted to sign Chelsea forward Nicolas Jackson on a season-long loan deal instead, while Woltemade completed an expensive move to Newcastle on 30 August.

Eddie Howe’s side were in desperate need of a new centre forward amid Alexander Isak’s exile and they finalised deals for Woltemade and Brentford's Yoane Wissa before the end of the summer transfer window.

Woltemade has scored two goals in three Premier League appearances for Newcastle, including the opener against Arsenal on Sunday, but Bayern legend Rummenigge, who is now a supervisory board member for the club, has slammed the Magpies’ decision to sign him.

Newcastle branded ‘idiots’ over Nick Woltemade deal

During an interview with Blickpunkt Sport, Rummenigge admitted (via The Daily Mail): “I'll be honest: When this story with Woltemade and then the demand from Stuttgart came up, I, as well as Uli [Hoeness], Herbert Hainer, Jan Dreesen, and Max Eberl, said - ‘Folks, we're slowly getting to a level that I simply don't find acceptable anymore.’

“We shouldn't fulfill every demand to make someone happy, especially the financiers at VfB Stuttgart.

“I can only congratulate those in Stuttgart for finding - I'll use quotation marks here - an idiot who paid that much money. Because we certainly wouldn't have done that in Munich.”

Last month, Bayern Munich honorary president Uli Hoeness also claimed: “He [Woltemade] isn't worth the fee. That only happened because of the money flowing from Saudi Arabia.”

While Woltemade has fared well since his arrival at St James’ Park, his Estimated Transfer Value (ETV) currently stands at just €37m (£32.3m), suggesting that Newcastle overpaid massively to bring him to the club before Transfer Deadline Day.

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