At FC Bayern, responsibilities in the sports department are being reorganized. Although Max Eberl’s contract was recently extended early through August 2029, the sporting director is apparently losing a key area of influence. Christoph Freund and Jochen Sauer are set to assume full responsibility for the campus going forward.
Karl-Heinz Rummenigge confirmed the new division of responsibilities in an interview with the Abendzeitung München. “It has now been decided that Christoph and Jochen Sauer will have full responsibility for the campus going forward,” explained the Bayern supervisory board member.
Formally, Eberl, as sporting director, remains the top official in charge of the sporting side of the club. However, the new division of responsibilities significantly strengthens the roles of Freund and youth director Sauer.
Rummenigge praises Freund and Sauer
In this context, Rummenigge referred to the past summer transfer window. According to Rummenigge, the Munich club had originally expected revenue of between 60 and 70 million euros from the sales of Joao Palhinha, Sacha Boey, Bryan Zaragoza, and Alexander Nübel. In the end, however, these players generated only around 20 million euros.
The sales of several youth players were therefore also crucial to the transfer balance sheet. Rummenigge mentioned, among others, Noel Aseko, Arijon Ibrahimovic, and Jonah Kusi-Asare.
“The sales of the young players saved us,” explained the 71-year-old, adding: “That was primarily thanks to Jochen and Christoph.”
This new area of responsibility is therefore quite remarkable. The campus has not only developed into a source of talent for Bayern but now also generates significant transfer revenue. Freund and Sauer will be responsible for precisely this area in the future.
As SPORT1 reports, this decision comes at the expense of Eberl’s influence. At the same time, the assessment of his work within the club is apparently more nuanced.
Hoeneß praises Eberl’s work
Uli Hoeneß had recently given an explicitly positive assessment of the summer transfer window. According to the honorary president, Bayern had originally planned for a transfer deficit of up to 50 million euros. In fact, due to the revenue generated, the deficit amounted to approximately 30 million euros.
“So, good work has been done there,” Hoeneß told SPORT1 about two weeks ago.
The statements by Hoeneß and Rummenigge do not necessarily contradict each other. While Hoeneß assessed the overall financial result, Rummenigge pointed out that a significant portion of the revenue came from sales of youth players.
At the same time, the responsibility for the disappointing revenue from individual professional players cannot be attributed solely to Eberl. Boey and Zaragoza, for example, were signed as early as the winter of 2023–24—at a time when Eberl was not yet working for FC Bayern.
In addition to Sauer, Freund in particular emerges stronger from the reorganization. The sporting director has also extended his contract through 2029 and will gain additional influence with full responsibility for the academy.
In this context, the future of chief scout Nils Schmadtke is also likely to be of interest. According to SPORT1, Eberl’s close associate has a contract that expires next summer. According to the report, no discussions regarding a possible extension have taken place yet.