Talk of a “forced marriage” is swirling: rumours are rife behind the scenes at FC Bayern over Max Eberl

From 1 July, when sporting director Max Eberl, sporting director Christoph Freund and CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen enter the final year of their contracts, concrete discussions regarding their future are set to take place. According to *kicker*, the club is, in principle, considering retaining Freund. The club is said to be satisfied with the Austrian’s work; in future, he will oversee the National Training Centre (NLZ) alongside campus director Jochen Sauer and the new head of youth development, Michael Wiesinger. 

Nevertheless, doubts remain about whether Freund will stay on alongside Eberl in the medium to long term. Their relationship is reported to be strained, with differences piling up. The hoped-for partnership model à la Hoeneß and Rummenigge has yet to materialise, leading the kicker to label the arrangement a “marriage of convenience”. Instead, kicker describes the pairing as a “forced marriage”. While tensions are simmering behind the scenes, the first team is said to be unaffected. For now, all attention is on the Champions League quarter-final second leg against Real Madrid and the DFB-Pokal semi-final with Bayer Leverkusen. 

Two factions have emerged: Eberl and head of scouting Nils Schmadtke, whose contract has reportedly been extended until 2027, versus Freund and his long-time associate Sauer, who previously collaborated at RB Salzburg. The cause of the rift: After Eberl joined Bayern six months after Freund, he gradually added trusted associates said to be close to agent Marc Kosicke: Markus Weinzierl (youth academy sporting director, contract expires this summer), Andre Hechelmann (former chief scout now at Mönchengladbach), Christoph Kresse (scout) and, notably, Schmadtke. 

The Eberl/Freund duo are under fire for only marginally improving the club’s finances. Even reaching the Champions League semi-finals would not guarantee a profit. As Hoeneß has repeatedly warned, the fixed-term deposit account has dwindled. Costly contract negotiations, slim wage savings and extra outlays like signing-on fees and agents’ commissions during transfers are key reasons. 

These shortcomings primarily land on Eberl’s desk. His future at the club is now wide open. Critics point to the generous concessions he made during the contract extensions of Dayot Upamecano and Jamal Musiala. He also failed to sell players earmarked for transfer. Joao Palhinha (Tottenham Hotspur), Bryan Zaragoza (AS Roma), Sacha Boey (Galatasaray Istanbul) and Alexander Nübel (VfB Stuttgart) could all return from loan and further strain the budget. 

Had the supervisory board not vetoed several proposed deals, the deficit might have been even larger. His push to sign Xavi Simons and Christopher Nkunku as replacements for Leroy Sané and Kingsley Coman was rejected, leaving the club to settle for Luis Díaz (Liverpool FC) and a loan for Nicolas Jackson (Chelsea FC), while youth prospect Lennart Karl stepped up. The club will stick with its youth-oriented strategy, a move that shapes squad planning and bolsters the influence of the NLZ trio Freund, Sauer and Wiesinger. 

Eberl’s role in signing Diaz and appointing manager Vincent Kompany is widely praised. Nevertheless, Bayern’s handling of the search for Thomas Tuchel’s successor reflected poorly on the club. Nevertheless, Eberl’s sporting success this season validates his approach and makes any potential split more complicated. The board’s historical leniency in such situations was already clear in the case of Niko Kovac: the double he delivered, despite squad unease, kept him in charge. Yet his credit ran out around five months later and Hansi Flick took over. 

A May meeting will offer an initial steer for July talks on Eberl’s future; the same applies to Dreesen, though signs point to an extension for both him and Freund. The CEO, who began his career in finance and has overseen that department since Michael Diederich’s exit, is especially valued for his communication skills.