Bayern Munich chief aims dig at Chelsea as he explains decision to sell Matthijs de Ligt to Man Utd

After missing out on the Bundesliga title in the 2023-24 season, Bayern Munich are set to go all guns blazing to reclaim the trophy in the 2024-25 campaign under new manager Vincent Kompany. On the eve of their season opener, Kompany along with sporting director Max Eberl, addressed the media.

When asked about the current squad, Eberl explained all the decisions they took in the ongoing summer transfer window including De Ligt's departure from the club as he joined Manchester United. The Bayern chief also took a dig at Premier League giants Chelsea while speaking on why it is important to have a curtailed squad.

Speaking to reporters, Eberl said, "When you plan a squad, you obviously want to have a squad free of injuries. Inflating a squad is not good. We have a good squad size and we want to give our young players the opportunity to show what they can do at the top. Vini works very well with them, they can train at the top. Of course, it's not nice that two newcomers or returnees, Stani and Hiroki Ito, have been injured. At the moment it doesn't feel like we're reacting well.

"As a club, you also have to bring in money somewhere. You can go through the season like Chelsea with 44 players, but that becomes difficult for the coach to manage. Then you have to steal jersey numbers, but we don’t do that at FC Bayern."

When asked about De Ligt's transfer, the official added, "We have to make decisions where we feel we can have the greatest possible success. We made decisions together with Vincent Kompany. Matthijs de Ligt has delivered very consistent performances. We wanted an additional left-footer, which is why we brought in Hiroki Ito. That's squad planning, then we spend money, then you as a club have to earn money too. We spoke to the players very transparently and then made decisions and that's how we got the squad we have now."

Harry Kane and Co. will kick off their new Bundesliga season on Sunday as they take on Wolfsburg in their opener away from home.