Bayern Munich chief bemoans huge Florian Wirtz fee after missing out on £116m man to Liverpool & calls out transfer rivals for playing 'Monopoly'

Wirtz joined Liverpool in a record-breaking deal after shining at Bayer Leverkusen, with Bayern and Real Madrid also exploring moves. Bayern eventually pulled out as they refused to meet the £116m asking price, turning instead to other deals. Hoeness has now slammed Liverpool and, in turn, the Premier League's spending power in the transfer market by also highlighting Newcastle's big-money move for Nick Woltemade.

Hoeness told German media: “We’re very satisfied at FC Bayern. We are the real winners of the summer transfer window. We have a strong team and didn’t need to strengthen it much. Of course, we would have liked to have Florian Wirtz, but we’d never have bought him for €150 million (£130 million).”

He then added: “Other clubs are playing Monopoly. Newcastle paid big for Nick Woltemade when we were interested. That’s not how Bayern work – we won’t be dragged into that kind of game.”

Bayern missed out on both Wirtz and Woltemade, with Premier League clubs flexing their financial muscle. Despite that, the Bundesliga champions kept their spending at a modest £75m while raising funds through major sales. Hoeness believes that Bayern's squad remains strong enough to compete across all fronts.

Liverpool will hope Wirtz can justify his price tag after a slow but promising start under Arne Slot. Bayern, meanwhile, will count on their balanced squad and Kompany’s leadership to chase silverware. The contrasting strategies highlight the widening gulf between German and English transfer markets.