Bayern Munich’s Karl-Heinz Rummenigge on VfB Stuttgart selling Nick Woltemade to Newcastle: “I can only congratulate the people in Stuttgart for finding an idiot who paid that much money”

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·29 septembre 2025

Bayern Munich’s Karl-Heinz Rummenigge on VfB Stuttgart selling Nick Woltemade to Newcastle: “I can only congratulate the people in Stuttgart for finding an idiot who paid that much money”

Image de l'article :Bayern Munich’s Karl-Heinz Rummenigge on VfB Stuttgart selling Nick Woltemade to Newcastle: “I can only congratulate the people in Stuttgart for finding an idiot who paid that much money”

Speaking to Bayernisch Rundfunk (via @iMiaSanMia), Bayern Munich’s Karl-Heinz Rummenigge has commented on the failed pursuit of Nick Woltemade.

Bayern pursued the signature of the former Stuttgart striker for most of the summer, but ultimately, they decided not to sign him due to the fee that the DFB Pokal winners were demanding, around €75m. Just before the deadline, Newcastle spent €85m on the 23-year-old.

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On the failed pursuit of Woltemade, Rummenigge said:

“I’ll be honest: When this story with Woltemade and then the demands of Stuttgart came up, I, as well as Uli, Herbert Hainer, Jan Dreesen, and Max Eberl, said: guys, we’re reaching figures that I no longer find acceptable. We shouldn’t meet every demand to make someone happy, especially the financiers at Stuttgart I can only congratulate the people in Stuttgart for finding – let me use quotation marks here – ‘an idiot’ who paid that much money, because we certainly wouldn’t have done that in Munich”

However, the rising transfer fees in world football are continuing to rise at an alarming rate. Due to Bayern’s 50+1 way of being run, they will eventually struggle to keep up with Premier League clubs, as well as state-owned clubs such as Newcastle.

On the rising fees, Rummenigge commented:

“We have to find a solution. We can’t keep going higher, further, and faster every year. Salaries and transfer fees have been rising rapidly in recent years. We can’t continue to operate seriously in this way. In England, they now have billionaires, or sometimes even states that own clubs, like Saudi Arabia, Qatar – or Paris Saint-Germain. And then you have to play against them in the European Cup and keep up. And then in the meantime you’re expected to win this competition”

This is not just a Bayern problem either; the Bundesliga, although able to benefit from the money coming in from the Premier League, still results in a big talent drain from the league. As seen this summer.

GGFN | Jack Meenan