Max Eberl draw the right conclusions at Bayern Munich from Uli Hoeneß's attacks - and are rightly rewarded

Hours before the cup final against VfB Stuttgart, which ultimately sealed Bayern Munich's most successful year since 2020, one issue suddenly dominated the agenda at the German record champions. In an interview with Der Spiegel, Uli Hoeneß, as outspoken as ever, voiced his "doubts" about the work of the board member for sport appointed at the start of 2024. The chances of extending Max Eberl's contract, which still runs until 2027, stood at "60:40".

That appearance underlined just how much power the club patron still holds at Bayern, even years after his official "withdrawal" from day-to-day operations. Hoeneß's intervention, questionable on a human level, clearly did not leave Eberl untouched either. Even so, after the final win he turned to gallows humour of his own accord and then produced an authentic, assured display. "My skin has grown thick," he stressed, in a remarkable response. Once again. Just as he had in the weeks and months before. All the way to his contract extension until 2029 on Tuesday.

Eberl has undergone a clearly visible development. Anyone who watched him at Gladbach and Leipzig already knew he understands the business. At Säbener Straße, however, things work differently. Alongside the day-to-day job, he also has to keep the powerful supervisory board, led by Hoeneß and former chief executive Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, satisfied. Above all, though, Hoeneß has to be satisfied.

This was the same man who around a year ago on "Doppelpass" had described Eberl as too soft, too selfish and too wasteful with the hard-earned money. The mood has since shifted. Hoeneß let that slip himself at the start of pre-season in Tegernsee, even apologising to Eberl in person for his comments on the sidelines of the cup final and lifting the chances of further cooperation to "100 per cent" just two months later.

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Eberl has thoroughly earned the fact this has now happened with his work in recent months. He has not only withstood the immense pressure, including that applied by Hoeneß. The 52-year-old has also, and in the final analysis this is the most important thing in his role, put together a squad that, with a perfect coaching appointment, can be trusted to achieve maximum success. That matters all the more because, despite complicated conditions and strict instructions from above, Nathaniel Brown and Ismael Saibari have again strengthened the team considerably in both depth and quality.

Repeated accusations: how Max Eberl earned his new standing at Bayern

With both new signings, Eberl acted early, exactly as Hoeneß wanted, while still showing a delicate touch on pricing. As Sport Bild recently reported, after the cup final he also increasingly sought closeness with the 74-year-old and Rummenigge. The two club grandees had previously been missing regular exchanges. That shortcoming had become clear, for example, in the handling of Thomas Müller. Eberl had more or less left the veteran to decide for himself whether to stay, before Hoeneß then publicly claimed the opposite. The same applied when Eberl announced a prompt contract extension for Leroy Sane, only to end up having to let the Germany international leave on a free transfer after all.

Still, the full truth is that the road to Eberl's change in standing was rocky. As is well known, Vincent Kompany was not the first, second or even third choice of the Bayern leadership around Eberl, who even wanted to persuade Thomas Tuchel to stay after the separation decided weeks earlier.

Yet Eberl was also the one who always had the Belgian on his list and ultimately got his way after the string of rejections. At least Hoeneß had already acknowledged that at the end of last year. "Max Eberl deserves the credit for that. He was the first to bring Vincent into the conversation with us and then he got him too," Hoeneß said, only to stress again in May that Eberl had actually wanted to bring Tuchel back beforehand.

There was also an element of luck in the signing of Luis Diaz, the marquee arrival of last summer. Before that, the Munich club had missed out on Florian Wirtz, while planned alternatives such as Nico Williams, Xavi Simons or Christopher Nkunku were not feasible or were rejected by the supervisory board. Even then, though, Eberl took charge and hit the mark. Critics who complained about the overall package of age and transfer fee have long since fallen silent.

The decision to sign Nicolas Jackson on loan for a horrendous fee was certainly the wrong one. But the deal had also been preceded by a loan order from Hoeneß, probably only issued once the injury-prone Kingsley Coman had already been flogged off to Saudi Arabia for €25 million, even though the attack still absolutely had to be strengthened in depth.

The unnecessary and overpriced signing of Joao Palhinha had already been set in motion before Eberl's arrival, after a promise had been made to him following the collapsed transfer a year earlier. Even so, Ebert is still getting the maximum out of the situation with the move to Benfica Lisbon. A satisfactory solution is also in sight with Bryan Zaragoza, which would mark the next stage in the wage savings he has demanded.

Then, this summer, Daniel Peretz and Alexander Nübel, like Mathys Tel and Adam Aznou the year before, were also sold for decent sums, while after Müller, high earners Leon Goretzka and Raphael Guerreiro have also dropped off the wage bill with the end of their contracts.

The accusation that Eberl made too many concessions to Jamal Musiala, Alphonso Davies and Dayot Upamecano in their costly contract extensions is also only partly justified. Upamecano took a big step towards absolute world class last season. But of course nobody could have foreseen in the cases of Musiala and Davies that both would suffer from such physical problems.

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Control from above? Max Eberl is apparently losing powers at Bayern

Against the clearing away of old burdens and the right, or at least understandable, decisions in squad planning stands the recurring issue that the powerful body around Hoeneß had its problems with Eberl and may soon have them again.

In Munich, even a small sporting crisis can have serious consequences. The fact Eberl is reportedly set to lose powers at the Campus and that trusted figures such as Markus Weinzierl have had to leave or, in the case of Nils Schmadtke, still have to go, also leaves a sour taste. The alleged introduction of a new transfer committee in the summer, which according to the Abendzeitung is always in contact with Eberl, points in the same direction.

So the controlling hand of the body and Hoeneß's sharp tongue will continue to accompany Eberl in the coming years. By now, however, he knows better and better how to deal with it without neglecting his actual job or losing his feel for the transfer market. The new contract is the reward he has earned.

Max Eberl at Bayern Munich: the arrivals at a glance