Bayern sporting chief Max Eberl is not catching heat for the missing out on Newcastle United star Anthony Gordon…and it looks like the Bavarians simply were not prepared to extend as far as FC Barcelona.
While Gordon was apparently appreciated by both Vincent Kompany and Barça coach Hansi Flick, it is the Catalans who were more willing to invest.
From Sport Bild head of football Christian Falk, as captured by @iMiaSanMia:
Max Eberl is not being internally blamed for the Gordon deal not going through. Eberl had reached an agreement with the player, but he was given a budget by the supervisory board that he could not exceed. Bayern was not willing to match Barcelona’s offer. [@cfbayern]
The supervisory board is relaxed, as they would have liked to have Gordon, but weren’t prepared to pay that much for a backup. Barcelona is now paying the transfer fee in installments.
From an outside perspective, Barça has sure been flying by the seat of its pants for several years now, pulling a conveyor belt of financial levers while battling LaLiga registration rules at seemingly every turn. And they’re not done, with a rumored huge bid for Julián Álvarez in the offing. Somehow, none of this has caught up with them…yet. Flick is having himself a time there, and Barcelona lifted another LaLiga trophy, this time surpassing runner-up Real Madrid by a handy eight points.
In the end, whether it works out or not, this is just not how cost-conscious Bayern operates. Sometimes, losing the bidding battle is the best outcome.
