Bayern Munich 'didn't do their homework' on Joao Palhinha and are blocking youth stars with 'superfluous' transfers as club legend takes aim at recruitment strategy

The legendary former Bayern midfielder slammed the club for the handling of Palhinha, who departed just one year after arriving at the Allianz Arena. Labelling the transfer "unnecessary and superfluous", the ex-Germany international was dismissive of the club's recruitment strategy and called into the question the lack of involvement of young players in first-team dynamics, asserting that "you can't always do everything right".

Last summer, Palhinha arrived on a €51 million (£44m/$59m) deal from Fulham that excluded potential add-ons. However, he was not counted upon by head coach Vincent Kompany. Despite reiterating his desire to fight for his place in Bavaria, the Portuguese international returned to the Premier League by joining Spurs on a one-year loan, with an option to buy him for £26m (€23m/$27m).

Matthaus expressed his thoughts on Bayern's transfer strategy in a column for Sky. He wrote: "Thanks to Joao Palhinha's loan to Tottenham Hotspur, Bayern Munich got away with just one and a half black eyes.

"Thomas Tuchel desperately wanted Palhinha, but Vincent Kompany didn't rely on him. Looking back at the history of the transfer, he was ultimately unnecessary and superfluous.

"Bayern has four or five players who can play in that position. They didn't do a lot of homework and paid a lot of money for a player who barely played in Munich.

"You can't always do everything right. But Palhinha wasn't the only bad investment; [Bryan] Zaragoza, [Bouna] Sarr, and [Sacha] Boey, who came from Galatasaray for €30 million, also cost a lot of money. All of them, however, had little to no playing time."

Die Roten will reunite with Palhinha on Thursday, August 7, when they take on Tottenham Hotspur in a summer friendly. They are also slated to take on Grasshopper Club Zurich on August 12, followed by their first competitive game of the season, the DFL-Supercup against Stuttgart, on August 16.