Bayern Munich tried to sign Moroccan star in 2020
The last summer transfer window was hugely productive for Bayern Munich. The Bavarian club managed to add several world-class talents to the squad. They did lose Robert Lewandowski to Barcelona, but the squad was strengthened in every department.
The overall spending for Die Roten last summer was beyond €100 million. The acquisitions of Matthijs de Ligt and Sadio Mane were expensive, but they brought more quality and tactical flexibility to the squad. Meanwhile, the signings of Mathys Tel and Ryan Gravenberch strengthened the club’s present and future.
Bayern had to be restrained with their spending for two years before the last summer window. The coronavirus pandemic had a significant impact on the club’s finances. Die Roten confirmed that they had experienced losses worth €150 million during the pandemic. The record German champions had to spend wisely to balance the books.
Courtesy of the pandemic, Die Roten and Hasan Salihamidzic missed out on some important targets during 2020 and 2021. According to SportBild’s Christian Falk, Die Roten tried hard to sign Achraf Hakimi from Real Madrid in 2020, but a limited budget held them back from completing the deal.
Salihamidzic also told Christian Falk about missing out on a big player in 2020 after putting in efforts for his signature. Hakimi eventually left Real Madrid to join Inter Milan in 2021 for a fee of €40 million. It was a significant fee for a right-back at that point since clubs were suffering losses due to the pandemic.
Hasan Salihamidžić told @cfbayern in an interview that he tried to sign a big name player in 2020, but the financial situation back then didn't allow it. As per @cfbayern, the player was Achraf Hakimi, who moved to Inter for €43m - which was unaffordable for FCB at the time pic.twitter.com/xF4edGfv9E
— Bayern & Germany (@iMiaSanMia) February 25, 2023
The Moroccan international excelled at Inter Milan before moving to PSG in 2021 for a fee close to €70 million. Hakimi had previously delivered impressive performances in the Bundesliga during his loan spell at Borussia Dortmund. He is an explosive right-back that can also play the wing-back role. His contributions in the final third made him one of the most exciting full-backs in Europe.
Die Roten needed a strong right-back in 2020 to provide more competition to Benjamin Pavard. Hakimi would have been a solid acquisition for Die Roten at that time. The Bavarian club ended up signing Bouna Sarr from Marseille. The Senegalese defender failed to make a mark in Bavaria due to poor form and injuries.
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Bayern addressed the right-back position last summer by signing Noussair Mazraoui from Ajax on a free transfer. They added more quality to this area of the squad by signing Joao Cancelo on loan from Manchester City in January. The Portuguese full-back may end up signing for the club on a permanent deal in the summer.