„I blanked everything out“: Woltemade talks about Bayern transfer falling through | OneFootball

Nick Woltemade was one of the most sought-after German players last summer – the striker was on the verge of a move to FC Bayern. In BILD am Sonntag, the 23-year-old now describes how he experienced his move to the German record champions falling through.

The poker game surrounding Nick Woltemade shaped the 2025 transfer summer like almost no other topic. There was weeks of speculation, negotiations and evaluations – but in the end, the DFB striker did not move to Munich, but to Newcastle United. Woltemade now talks in detail for the first time about how he experienced the enormous attention, the high transfer fees and the debates surrounding him.

Woltemade on Eberl’s statements: „Nothing sticks“

When Bayern’s sporting director Max Eberl philosophized aloud during the Club World Cup about whether Woltemade was „worth 80 million euros“, the attacker was already on vacation on Lake Como. The media hype reached him – but only in passing. „I just put my phone away at some point,“ says Woltemade. „I wanted to enjoy my time off after the U21 European Championship. When the reports about me and the transfer fee exploded, I didn’t let it drive me crazy.“

He knows how the business works: „Questions can be awkward, even more so in front of the camera. Nothing sticks.“

Lothar Matthäus recently emphasized that Woltemade is now „worth 100 million euros“. The attacker reacts calmly: „I don’t know if he’s right, but I’m honoured by the statement.“

Rummenigge causes a stir – Woltemade reacts diplomatically

photo: IMAGO

Meanwhile, a statement from Bayern supervisory board member Karl-Heinz Rummenigge made the headlines. He said that Stuttgart had found „an idiot“ in Newcastle, who had paid the sum for Woltemade that FCB were not prepared to pay – a statement that was the subject of intense debate in England and Germany.

Woltemade deliberately kept a low profile: „My teammates said something about it, I didn’t. I read through the whole statement. It was certainly unfortunate, but not quite as dramatic as it was in the headlines afterwards.“

The situation did not go uncommented on in the national team either. „We had talked about it, especially after the Supercup when we met Bayern with Stuttgart,“ says Woltemade. But by the next time they met, he had already signed for Newcastle – and the issue was over.

Was the Supercup particularly stressful for him? „Less than I thought, actually. At first, I thought it would be awkward to play Bayern straight away. But it was pleasant and relaxed.“

His colleagues in the national team also reacted positively after his transfer. „The Bayern players also congratulated me,“ he says. „When a player takes a step forward, there are congratulations – regardless of which club was previously interested.“