One of the many big stories that broke this week was Bayern Munich bailing from the talks with Kennet Eichhorn over the player’s representation wanting to turn a roughly €10 million deal into a €20 million deal.
Once the family and agent pushed a €10 million signing bonus to the mix, Bayern Munich recused itself from the proceedings. By now, we know how that played out as the supervisory board — led by Uli Hoeneß and Karl-Heinz Rummenigge — exited the race once the signing bonus was brought up.
So,
how far did Bayern Munich get before it fell apart? Apparently pretty far as Bild (via @iMiaSanMia) detailed the full extent of the pursuit:
Bayern were very close to securing the signing of Kennet Eichhorn. The club flew him in to Munich especially before the Champions League semi-final against PSG. There was a meeting at the Hotel Vier Jahreszeiten, and they fought hard to get him. They explained to him why they absolutely wanted him; Vincent Kompany is said to have spoken with Eichhorn for hours. Max Eberl had arranged everything together with Christoph Freund and Kompany; they were determined to sign him.
However, once the supervisory board heard of the cost of the deal, including the signing fee, they vetoed the transfer. Max Eberl would have liked to spend the money on Eichhorn anyway. From the agents’ perspective, Eichhorn has a market value of €20m, so they see the signing fee as fair (value of the release clause plus signing fee to match the player’s value). The supervisory board decided that €10-11m as a signing fee was too much and said: ‘No. We’re out.’
If true, it seems that Bayern Munich was really extremely interested in Eichhorn, but did not want to set a new precedent of having that kind of signing bonus included for a 16-year-old. Financially and strategically, it was a deft move, but if Eichhorn develops into the next Toni Kroos, it will feel short-sighted and abrupt.
We will not be able to Monday Morning Quarterback this for a few years, but if Eichhorn becomes a special player (as many are predicting) €10 million might end up feeling like a small price to pay.
Liverpool, Manchester City, and Borussia Dortmund all reportedly still in the mix for Eichhorn.
Song of the Week: “Judith” by A Perfect Circle
Released way back in 2000, this one still has a hard edge as Maynard from Tool engaged in this side project (all the rage back then). Enjoy some early-aughts hard rock / industrial music to get your day going:
Entertainment Rundown
There was no viewing of anything this week, but we can drop the “final trailer” for House of the Dragon here:
Every time I want to get out, I end up sliding back in. Let’s hope that the third season is a charm for his show as the first two did not deliver (though the second season was better than the first).
I’m hoping to get back into the show watching mix soon, but this guy needed some sleep this week.
Prediction
Germany’s final tune-up for the World Cup will happen on Saturday against the USMNT in Chicago, Illinois. Both teams are coming off of wins and neither should just punt this match. As we learned in 2022, how Germany looks heading into the World Cup was a good indication of how it was going to play in the tourney.
Julian Nagelsmann should roll with his expected starters, seek to build chemistry, and try to establish the momentum that the team desperately needs. The USMNT is no pushover, though. While Germany took down Finland, the United States ousted a good Senegal side.
Either team taking a loss here will put some risk on doubt seeping into the squad before a massive tourney — even though this game means nothing. This is not France or Spain or England where there has been some sort of (relative) success as of late, this Germany, which — like it or not — is rebuilding from the ground-up.
Hopefully, Julian Nagelsmann understands that and plays this to win.
Prediction: United States 1-3 Germany
International Friendlies
- Iran 2-1 Gambia (W)
- Andorra 1-2 Iraq (W)
- South Africa 2-0 Nicaragua (L)
- Bosnia-Herzegovina 1-0 North Macedonia (L)
- Scotland 3-0 Curacao (W)
- Ecuador 2-1 Saudi Arabia (W)***
- South Korea 3-0 Trinidad & Tobago (W)
- Mexico 2-1 Australia (W)
- Japan 2-1 Iceland (W)
- Singapore 3-0 Mongolia (W)
- Switzerland 4-0 Jordan (W)
- Czechia 2-1 Kosovo (W)***
- Cape Verde 1-2 Serbia (L)
- Poland 1-0 Ukraine (L)
- United States 1-2 Senegal (L)
- Brazil 4-0 Panama (W)
- Bulgaria 1-2 Montenegro (W)
- Slovakia 3-0 Malta (W)
- Norway 2-1 Sweden (W)
- Türkiye 2-0 North Macedonia (W)
- Austria 3-0 Tunisia (W)
- Colombia 3-1 Costa Rica (W)***
- Canada 2-0 Uzbekistan (W)***
- Croatia 1-1 Belgium (L)
- Georgia 2-1 Romania (L)
- Morocco 4-0 Madagascar (W)
- Wales 2-1 Ghana (L)
- Haiti 0-1 New Zealand (L)
- Albania 1-0 Israel (L)
- DR Congo 0-2 Denmark (L)
- Netherlands 4-0 Algeria (L)
- Luxembourg 0-5 Italy (W)
- Poland 1-1 Nigeria (W)
- Sweden 2-0 Greece (L)
- Spain 3-0 Iraq (L)
- France 3-1 Ivory Coast (L)
- Mexico 2-2 Serbia (L)
- Canada 2-0 Ireland (TBD)
- Belgium 4-0 Tunisia (TBD)
- Portugal 4-0 Chile (TBD)
- Bolivia 0-3 Scotland (TBD)
- Hong Kong 3-0 Mongolia (TBD)
- Singapore 1-2 China (TBD)
- Georgia 3-0 Bahrain (TBD)
- Slovakia 2-1 Montenegro (TBD)
- Moldova 1-1 Bulgaria (TBD)
- Hungary 2-1 Finland (TBD)
- Paraguay 3-0 Nicaragua (TBD)
- Puerto Rico 0-1 Saudi Arabia (TBD)
- Haiti 1-0 Peru (TBD)
- Belgium 3-0 Tunisia (TBD)
- Portugal 2-1 Chile (TBD)
- Romania 1-2 Wales (TBD)
- Panama 1-2 Bosnia and Herzegovina (TBD)
- Switzerland 1-0 Australia (TBD)
- Scotland 2-0 Bolivia (TBD)
- England 5-0 New Zealand (TBD)
- Brazil 3-1 Egypt (TBD)
- Venezuela 0-3 Türkiye (TBD)
- Argentina 4-0 Honduras (TBD)
- Denmark 1-1 Ukraine (TBD)
- Croatia 2-1 Slovenia (TBD)
- Greece 1-2 Italy (TBD)
- Morocco 1-1 Norway (TBD)
- Ecuador 3-0 Guatemala (TBD)
- Colombia 2-0 Jordan (TBD)
- Netherlands 3-1 Uzbekistan (TBD)
- France 2-0 Northern Ireland (TBD)
- Peru 0-3 Spain (TBD)
- Cambodia 0-2 Hong Kong (TBD)
- China 3-1 Thailand (TBD)
- Hungary 2-0 Kazakhstan (TBD)
- Saudi Arabia 1-2 Senegal (TBD)
- Argentina 3-0 Iceland (TBD)
- Iraq 2-0 Venezuela (TBD)
- Portugal 2-1 Nigeria (TBD)
- England 3-0 Costa Rica (TBD)
- Austria 2-0 Guatemala (TBD)
Final Prediction Records for 2025/26
- Total: 533-352
- Perfect Picks: 55
- Bundesliga Last Matchday: 3-6
- Bundesliga Overall: 167-139
- DFB-Pokal: 52-11
- World Cup Qualifiers/Friendlies: 164-95
- Champions League: 101-80
- Club World Cup: 39-23
- Club Friendlies: 4-0
- Franz Beckenbauer Supercup: 1-0
If you are looking for more Bayern Munich and German national team coverage, check out the latest episodes of Bavarian Podcast Works, which you can get on Acast, Spotify, Apple, or any leading podcast distributor…
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