Bayern Munich have won their 11th consecutive championship in dramatic fashion, beating FC Cologne 2-1, while rivals Borussia Dortmund gave away their lead at the top of the table with a 2-2 draw against Mainz.
But only minutes after Jamal Musiala scored the deciding goal at Cologne, it was announced that chief executive Oliver Kahn and sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic had been dismissed from their positions.
Bayern midfielder Thomas Muller was surprised by the timing, saying: “That happens now? One minute after the final whistle?”
While manager Thomas Tuchel, who chairman Herbert Hainer insisted would remain at the club, said: “Instead of celebrating, we now have another issue. My two main contacts are no longer here. We have to align our ideas.”
It was not the first time Bayern’s timing seemed off this season. In late March, the German record champions sacked manager Julian Nagelsmann despite having lost only three games across all competitions and replaced him with Tuchel.
The former Chelsea boss did not manage to change things for the better immediately, suffering elimination from the Champions League and the German Cup.
The weekend before the final matchday, Tuchel’s side dropped to second in the Bundesliga with a 3-1 loss to RB Leipzig. Thanks to Dortmund not being able to hold their nerve on Saturday, Bayern came away with yet another title.
But the club’s board had already decided to let Kahn and Salihamidzic go before the game against Cologne was played.
The feeling in Bayern’s headquarters was that both former players had recently made too many mistakes, including repeated managerial changes and costly misfires on the transfer market, most notably the signing of Sadio Mane from Liverpool.
Rummenigge and Hoeness will be back
As so often with organisations in turmoil, Bayern return to what worked in the past. Jan-Christian Dreesen, the club’s long-time chief finance officer, has taken over as chief executive, while Karl-Heinz Rummenigge and Uli Hoeness are set to serve in advisory roles, with Rummenigge becoming part of Bayern’s supervisory board.
What’s known is that Rummenigge and Hoeness, who led Bayern for decades, will return to try to stabilise the club and use their large network in European football to ensure the next high-profile transfers have the desired effect.
A few weeks ago, Hoeness arrived at Bayern’s training ground unannounced, indicating that the former chairman, who served a prison sentence between 2014 and 2016 for tax fraud, may take over one more time. During his visit, Hoeness talked to manager Tuchel for about 15 minutes.
Rummenigge and Hoeness hope the 49-year-old boss can improve the overall performance of the team and potentially integrate new players, as Bayern look to start a squad rebuild this summer.
Mane is one of the players Bayern are willing to sell if an appropriate offer comes in. The former Liverpool star earns about £325,000 per week and has been a disappointment, particularly in the second half of the season. Tuchel did not consider bringing Mane on during the two final games, which says a lot about his standing in the team.
What Bayern desperately need is a striker who can serve as a real target player, like Robert Lewandowski before his departure in summer 2022. Bayern signed Mane instead of a traditional number nine, and suffered.
They are reportedly interested in Frankfurt’s Randal Kolo Muani and Juventus’ Dusan Vlahovic. Tottenham’s Harry Kane is also on the list of potential transfer targets, but Bayern are aware of the stiff competition they would face for the England captain.
FC Hollywood’ needs to be gone
However, even more important than a few hit signings this summer will be the overall presentation of the club. In good times, Bayern are known as a well-oiled machine, while in bad times have been labelled ‘FC Hollywood’, because of all the drama behind the scenes and in public.
They are in an FC Hollywood phase once again, and need to get out of it as soon as possible. That would include more consistency in the manager’s office, no drama in the boardroom and fewer leaks to the media.
While Rummenigge and Hoeness were not able to always keep the drama out, the two led Bayern during highly successful periods in which the club were able to beat their peers from England and Spain in the Champions League.
Whether they can recreate those successes remains to be seen. The only certainty is that Bayern are still strong enough to clinch a domestic championship, albeit narrowly, and that the attempt to hand over the reins to Kahn and Salihamidzic ended at the weekend.
