Bayern Wanted a 125-Million Star! Eberl Reveals Why the Transfer Fell Through | OneFootball

Bradley Barcola transferred to Liverpool FC this summer for 125 million euros. Now Max Eberl confirms that Bayern Munich was also interested in the French player.

Bayern Munich has been closely monitoring Bradley Barcola in recent years. The French attacking star transferred from Paris Saint-Germain to Liverpool FC this summer for 125 million euros. For the Munich club, however, a transfer fee of that magnitude was out of the question.

Sporting Director Max Eberl confirmed Bayern’s earlier interest in an interview with Sport BILD. The 52-year-old revealed that his connection to Barcola actually goes back even further: “To be honest, I’ve known Bradley since my time in Leipzig. I wanted to bring him to RB. We sat down together back then and discussed it. That’s how I developed a closer relationship with Bradley. So there’s always been interest,” he revealed.

Even after Eberl’s move to FC Bayern, Barcola apparently remained on the radar. The French national team player had developed into one of Europe’s most sought-after attacking players at PSG.

In the end, Barcola was too expensive for Bayern.

Eberl confirmed that the Munich club had taken a concrete interest in the 24-year-old: “Of course, we at Bayern also looked into Bradley. But when you hear sums like that, it was just too much for us.”

Liverpool, on the other hand, dug deep into their pockets and transferred 125 million euros to Paris for Barcola—a figure FC Bayern wasn’t willing to match.

Instead, the Munich club invested in Luis Díaz last summer. The Colombian wasn’t a cheap transfer either, but according to Eberl, he was in a different financial league.

Photo: IMAGO

“With Luis Díaz, we made a decision that was also costly, but on a different scale than Bradley. Moreover, Díaz is a player who draws fans to the stadium. We’re extremely happy with him,” explained the Bayern boss.

In principle, however, Eberl doesn’t rule out mega-transfers for the German record champions. Elsewhere in the interview, the sporting director made it clear that FC Bayern is certainly financially capable of paying large transfer fees if the decision-makers are fully convinced of a player’s worth.

In Barcola’s case, however, the club’s budget ceiling was significantly lower than the 125 million euros ultimately paid. Bayern opted for Diaz—while the former Munich transfer target is now continuing his career at Liverpool FC.