Bayern Munich’s 2024 summer transfer window won’t be remembered for players, but instead the numerous coaches they missed out on.
Thomas Tuchel announced his decision to leave back in March, but the list of replacements quickly dried up as Xabi Alonso and Julian Nagelsmann committed to Bayer Leverkusen and Germany respectively.
Then came a flood of names such as Ralf Rangnick and Oliver Glasner, before Vincent Kompany finally accepted their offer.
Little has been said officially on the matter, but honorary president Uli Hoeness has now discussed a summer from hell, lifting the lid on what went wrong, and naming two coaches who were keen to join.
“Alonso has a contract with Leverkusen. He would have liked to come to FC Bayern, but he is a coach with a great character,” Hoesness said. “I have already said that my wife and I thought that he would not let his club down.
“Glasner absolutely wanted to go to FC Bayern, absolutely, but FC Bayern is not all-powerful, so we can’t tell the president of Crystal Palace that you have to let him go now.”
Discussing Nagelsmann he added: “Nagelsmann’s rejection was strange, because his management had already suggested to FC Bayern that they wanted to do it. It just went wrong.”
But the one that mystified Hoeness most of all was Rangnick, with stories hitting the media that he didn’t want to join, precisely because of the honorary president.
“Rangnick was the biggest mess,” he added. “They said he wasn’t coming to FC Bayern because of me.
“He said to me, ‘If I come to FC Bayern, I’ll come because of you’. Tomorrow he’s coming to my place for lunch and we’ll play a round of golf. That’s not exactly a sign that we don’t like each other, is it?”

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