Newcastle are 'idiots' for buying Nick Woltemade as Bayern Munich chief blasts Stuttgart over 'unacceptable' transfer demands

Bayern made Woltemade one of their top summer targets after his breakout season with Stuttgart. The Bavarians launched several bids, the last of which was worth around €60 million (£52m/$70m), but Stuttgart refused to sell below €75m (£65m/$87m). Just when it seemed Woltemade would stay, Newcastle swooped in, paying €85m (£74m/$99m) plus add-ons to secure the striker. The move left Bayern frustrated, with club legend Rummenigge blasting Stuttgart’s demands and mocking Newcastle for overpaying.

Reacting to the Woltemade saga in an interview with Blickpunkt Sport, Rummenigge did not mince words: "I can only congratulate them in Stuttgart for finding, so to speak, an idiot who would pay that much money, because we certainly wouldn't have done that.

"I said: We're coming in on a scale that I no longer find acceptable. We shouldn't meet all of their demands."

The Bayern executive, who now sits on the club’s supervisory board, said the episode highlights how far the Premier League has pulled ahead financially, leaving Bundesliga clubs unable to match their spending power.

He further blamed the players and their agents for facilitating this change in transfer dynamics. "The players and their agents must also be careful not to trap themselves. The money has to come from somewhere, and that comes from expanding competitions or creating new ones."

Bayern also had a €100m (£87m/$117m) offer for Florian Wirtz rejected as they attempted to sign him from Bayer Leverkusen, only to see the German playmaker instead join Liverpool for €125m (£108m/$146m) in a British-record deal.

For Rummenigge, these transfers underline how clubs backed by billionaire owners or states are warping the market. This is not the first time the Bayern legend has spoken publicly about Financial Fair Play concerns. Earlier, Rummenigge claimed the club might have to reconsider its 50+1 ownership rule to unlock greater financial potential and also asked UEFA to impose stricter punishments on clubs that fail to comply with the rules.

Currently, clubs are allowed to spend 70 per cent of their income on salaries and transfers, but Rummenigge believes it should be brought down further to 60 per cent. Pointing to UEFA’s Financial Fair Play rules, he said: "We need to get down to 60, ideally even 55 percent. Because anything above 55 means you're losing money otherwise. Football cannot be the only industry in the world that only loses money."

Rummenigge is concerned for the Bundesliga and believes that if the matter is not addressed, the upcoming transfer window will be a repeat of the club's struggles in this window. The Bundesliga legend thus wants the club and the players to discuss this matter before it's too late.

"We should sit down at a table and then seriously discuss what we can do together. It's not like someone immediately runs to the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg after the meeting and sues," he said.