The Academy as a Gold Mine: How FC Bayern Profits from Its Young Talents | OneFootball

When it comes to squad planning, FC Bayern has long since moved beyond the goal of simply developing talent for the first team. Increasingly, the academy is also emerging as a key model for economic success. In the past two transfer windows alone, the Munich club has earned more than 70 million euros from young players and reserve-team professionals—even though many of them saw little or no playing time with the first team.

This development fits perfectly with the strategy of sporting director Max Eberl and director of sports Christoph Freund. Both regularly emphasize that young players should either make the leap to the first team or generate financial value for the club through lucrative transfers.

Aseko and Kusi-Asare are prime examples of the Bayern approach.

This model is particularly evident in the case of Noel Aseko. The midfielder moved from Hertha’s youth academy to the Bayern Campus in 2022 but never played for the first team. It wasn’t until his loan to Hannover 96 that he made his breakthrough. In the summer, Eintracht Frankfurt signed the U-21 national team player for around twelve million euros.

Jonah Kusi-Asare also turned out to be a lucrative deal for the record champions. The Swede had been signed in early 2024 for around 3.5 million euros and played only two competitive matches for the first team. Through the loan fee and subsequent sale to Fulham FC, Bayern Munich nevertheless earned around ten million euros. In addition, the Munich club secured a buyback option.

The situation was similar with Maurice Krattenmacher, who moved to SV Elversberg after loan stints at SSV Ulm and Hertha BSC. Here, too, Bayern Munich is said to have contractually secured the option for a later return.

The Campus is becoming increasingly important to Bayern’s strategy

Photo: IMAGO

In addition to the Campus players, the Munich club also generated considerable revenue from supplementary players. Alexander Nübel moved to Besiktas after several loan spells, Daniel Peretz joined FC Southampton, and Lovro Zvonarek headed to Portugal. Combined, these transfers brought in millions more to Säbener Straße.

As early as the summer of 2025, sales of Paul Wanner, Adam Aznou, Frans Krätzig, and Gabriel Vidovic had already brought in around 33 million euros. Combined with the current transfer proceeds, the total revenue amounts to well over 70 million euros within just two transfer windows.

For Bayern, this development is a key component of their long-term squad strategy. Max Eberl has recently emphasized on several occasions that the professional squad is to be kept deliberately smaller in order to make it easier for talents like Lennart Karl, Maycon Cardozo, and Bastian Assomo to work their way up. At the same time, the numerous sales demonstrate that even players who do not make their definitive breakthrough in Munich can represent significant economic value for the club.

The Bayern Campus is thus increasingly becoming a second pillar of the club’s transfer strategy: Either players make the leap to the first team—or their transfers help finance the record champion’s next squad overhaul.