With the total wage bill this season exceeding €245 million, Bayern Munich is the third most expensive club in world football after Real Madrid and Barcelona. The figure for last season was even more absurd, totaling €280 million, with nine players earning more than €15 million gross per year. Fortunately, with the transfers of Leroy Sane and Kingsley Coman alongside the departure of club legend Thomas Müller, Bayern managed to lighten its payroll loads.
That being said, for a club long obsessed with and admired by others for financial discipline, Bayern now faces scrutiny: which players are worth every euro, and which ones are draining the payroll? To get a clearer picture, let's break down the squad into three salary brackets: top earners (€14 million/year and above), mid-tier (€7-14 million/year), and lower-tier (less than €7 million/year).