Just when normality was resuming back in football, the new variant of the COVID-19 virus has emerged. The Omnicron variant of the virus has raised a lot of concerns across the club. Bayern Munich is also set to face the brunt of the virus on their accounts for the next few weeks.
The Prime Minister of Bavaria, Markus Soder, has confirmed that Die Roten will have to play games behind closed doors at Allianz Arena at least until the end of the year. Soder also insisted that a similar protocol is likely to be followed across all clubs in Germany. It remains to be seen whether the new guidelines will be implemented straight away from the coming weekend.
Earlier this year, Bayern chiefs confirmed that pandemic has led to losses worth €150 million. The German Champions played games behind closed doors for close to 18 months. The return of fans was set to give respite to the club’s accounts, but the sight of full-packed Allianz Arena was short-lived.
However, the wellness of fans is much more crucial, so the government has made the right decision. The best possible scenario for Die Roten will be getting fans at Allianz Arena in some capacity after the winter break in January.
Due to the pandemic, Die Roten were not actively looking for big transfers in summer. The Bavarian club spent big money on Dayot Upamecano before the end of last season. They kept on monitoring the market and eventually spent a small fee to sign Marcel Sabitzer from RB Leipzig, while other big clubs were spending big money on superstars.
If the games are played behind closed doors for the rest of the season, then Rekordmeister could once again have a quiet summer. They do need a wide player, right-back, and potentially two midfielders next summer. In such a scenario, losing matchday revenue for weeks was the last thing club needed.
Meanwhile, Julian Nagelsmann is unlikely to have Joshua Kimmich available for the Der Klassiker this weekend. The German midfielder had to isolate after testing positive for COVID-19 last week. However, Kimmich is inclining towards taking the vaccine, which will be a big relief for the club.
In the absence of Kimmich, Corentin Tolisso might get the nod to play in central midfield against Borussia Dortmund later this week. Der Klassiker was a game to watch out for this weekend, but the lack of fans could really kill the atmosphere despite having a strong competitive edge on the pitch.