The 8 players let go by Bayern Munich in the summer – & how they’ve fared since
It was a big summer at Bayern Munich, who were very active in the transfer market as they tried their best to rebuild the squad in Thomas Tuchel’s image.
The Bundesliga giants broke their transfer record to sign Harry Kane from Tottenham for a €100million fee, Min-jae Kim arrived fresh from his starring role in Napoli’s Scudetto triumph, while Raphael Guerreiro and Konrad Laimer joined on free transfers.
A number of high-profile names also departed the club in the summer. We’ve checked in on the eight players that left Bayern in the summer and assessed how they’re faring in 2023-24 so far.
Lucas Hernandez
There was a big rebuild at PSG over the summer, with the likes of Sergio Ramos, Lionel Messi and Neymar departing while Lucas Hernandez, Randal Kolo Muani and Ousmane Dembele joined their Les Bleus team-mate Kylian Mbappe in the French capital.
The World Cup-winning defender’s €365,000 weekly wages make him one of the top-earning summer signings in all of European football this summer – while Bayern pocketed around €45million in a transfer fee, marginally more than half the money they spent on signing him from Atletico Madrid four years ago.
Hernandez has looked reasonably good for Les Parisiens. He scored his first goal as a consolation in a 4-1 mauling away to Newcastle and looks like a natural fit as Luis Enrique attempts to make PSG look more like a cohesive unit.
Results haven’t been especially good, though. PSG have only won half of their eight Ligue 1 outings so far, sit third in the table, and have made their worst start of the QSI era.
READ: European football’s 10 highest-paid new signings of 2023-24: Kane 2nd…
Benjamin Pavard
In the final days of the window, Inter Milan signed Pavard on a five-year deal for a €30million fee. The French full-back was free to leave after it became increasingly clear he wasn’t a major part of Tuchel’s new-look Bayern.
He’s made just three Serie A appearances for Simone Inzaghi’s high-flying Nerazzurri, but he’s also played every minute of their Champions League campaign so far – in which they’ve taken four points from Real Sociedad and Benfica.
Sadio Mane
In hindsight it’s surprising that it took until August for Mane to officially leave Bayern. He was sold for approximately €30million, recouping more-or-less the same fee they paid Liverpool last summer.
The writing was on the wall for the Senegalese forward’s future in Bavaria ever since he came to blows with Leroy Sane. For whatever reason, Mane could never replicate his best form in the Bundesliga and Tuchel’s arrival failed to turn things around.
Mane is now reportedly earning approximately €750,000 a week at Saudi Pro League club Al Nassr, which makes him one of the top-paid players in world football. Lining up alongside the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Aymeric Laporte and Marcelo Brozovic, Mane has made a bright start with seven goals in his first 12 appearances for his new club.
READ: How the Saudi Pro League’s biggest signings of the summer have fared so far
Marcel Sabitzer
Manchester United reportedly turned down the opportunity to sign the Austrian midfielder, who was useful if not revelatory on loan from Bayern in the latter half of last season.
Sabitzer returned to his parent club this summer but didn’t factor into Tuchel’s plans. He was sold to Bundesliga rivals Borussia Dortmund, whereby he’s plugged a Bellingham-shaped hole in midfield. Gulp.
He made a promising enough start for Dortmund, who are somehow level on points with Bayern despite some fairly unconvincing performances, but has been sidelined over their winning run in recent weeks due to a knock.
Yann Sommer
The experienced Swiss ‘keeper was drafted in as an emergency stop-gap solution in January after Manuel Neuer’s mid-season skiing accident.
Sommer helped see them through to an unconvincing Bundesliga title victory but was deemed surplus to requirements with Sven Ulreich entrusted between the sticks before Neuer’s long-awaited return.
Inter signed the 34-year-old to replace Manchester United-bound Andre Onana. He was at fault at the weekend as they dropped points in a 2-2 draw with Bologna, but has otherwise largely been sound – Inter have the best defensive record in Serie A, having conceded just five goals in eight games so far.
Ryan Gravenberch
The 21-year-old Ajax academy graduate struggled for minutes (just three Bundesliga starts) in his one and only season at Bayern and his lack of action in the early weeks of 2023-24 seemed to make his mind up that an exit was necessary.
Liverpool snapped up Gravenberch late in the window, bolstering Jurgen Klopp’s options in their big midfield rebuild.
So far he’s settled in slowly, with each of his starts coming in the cup competitions. He’s not played quite enough to make a definitive judgement of how he’ll fare at Anfield, but the early signings are promising enough – though he did snatch at a golden chance for a match-winner against Brighton.
His departure – all the while Bayern failed to land top target Joao Palhinha on deadline day – does give Tuchel something of a headache when it comes to a lack of midfield depth, however.
🗣️ “I think it’s really obvious how good he is. What a talent he is. He’s enjoying the situation, enjoying himself.”
Jurgen Klopp is delighted with Ryan Gravenberch’s start to life at Liverpool. 🇳🇱 pic.twitter.com/f8AkPRXoDf
— Football Daily (@footballdaily) October 6, 2023
Bright Arrey-Mbi
Eligible to play for Cameroon, England or Germany, Arrey-Mbi joined Bayern’s youth set-up from Chelsea back in 2019.
However, the 20-year-old defender never progressed to make his senior debut for the club and instead developed his game for their B team and loans away to Koln and second-tier Hannover 96.
He was released in the summer and rejoined Hannover, who currently sit fifth in the Bundesliga II.
Daley Blind
The veteran utility man left crisis club Ajax midway through last season and ended up adding the Bundesliga title to his impressive honours list after a six-month stint at the Allianz.
“I’ve played in many places, as a centre-back, full-back or midfielder and I’m willing to play where the coach puts me,” Blind explained after signing for Girona as a free agent.
“My first impression has been of warmth but, jokes aside, I’ve felt very good and the sensations are very good on the part of the colleagues. I feel at home.”
The 33-year-old has proven an inspired addition to Girona’s squad, a vital part of them briefly topping the La Liga table for the first time in their history. Their only defeat this season was to table-toppers Real Madrid, and they currently sit second – a place and a point ahead of reigning champions Barcelona.