Jan-Christian Dreesen firmly rejects an old accusation against FC Bayern. The accusation concerns the transfers of several former BVB stars.
Over the years, FC Bayern has poached several key players from Borussia Dortmund. Mario Götze, Robert Lewandowski, and Mats Hummels all moved from BVB to Munich. As a result, the accusation persists to this day that Bayern deliberately weakened its biggest rival at the time on the transfer market.
Jan-Christian Dreesen now firmly rejects this characterization. In an interview with Sport BILD, the FC Bayern CEO was asked directly about this very accusation. His response was unequivocal: “I think that’s nonsense.”
Dreesen justifies his stance by stating that FC Bayern fundamentally seeks out the best possible players for its own roster. “We’re always on the lookout for the best players for our team,” explained the 59-year-old.
Looking back, the Bayern boss sees the decision regarding Robert Lewandowski in particular as having been the right one. The Polish player moved from Dortmund to Munich on a free transfer in 2014 and went on to become one of the most successful strikers in the club’s history.
Dreesen points to Lewandowski and Hummels
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“The example of Lewandowski in particular—and the success he had with us in the years that followed—shows that we signed the perfect striker for us,” said Dreesen. From FC Bayern’s perspective, there was an additional connection with Mats Hummels as well: The center back had already played for Munich during his youth and at the start of his professional career.
Dreesen also points out that by no means did every promising Dortmund player end up at FC Bayern. He cites Erling Haaland, Jude Bellingham, and Jadon Sancho as examples. All three were certainly of interest to the Munich club, but later moved either to the Premier League or to Real Madrid.
In doing so, Dreesen refutes the notion that FC Bayern systematically sought to weaken Borussia Dortmund on the field. From his perspective, the club’s own sporting interests were the primary focus of these transfers.
Nevertheless, a special rivalry has existed between the two clubs for years. In the same interview, however, Dreesen also emphasized their mutual respect and their shared importance to German soccer. On the field, they remain rivals; internationally, Bayern and Dortmund are both key driving forces behind the Bundesliga.
The old transfers still spark debate to this day. Dreesen now leaves no doubt about FC Bayern’s perspective: At the time, the Munich club wanted to improve its own team—and not primarily to weaken BVB.