Bayern Munich's Summer Transfer Decisions: Barcola and Gordon

Bayern Munich stepped away from blockbuster moves for Bradley Barcola and Anthony Gordon this summer, with Max Eberl admitting the price tags pushed the German champions out of the race.

The Bundesliga side had identified both wingers as major targets to sharpen Vincent Kompany’s attack. The interest was serious. The money required was even more serious.

Barcola ultimately headed to Liverpool in a stunning £123 million deal, brought in as Mohamed Salah’s long-term successor after the Egyptian’s glittering nine-year stay at Anfield came to an end. Gordon, meanwhile, left Newcastle for Barcelona in a £69m transfer, another elite wide option slipping out of Bayern’s grasp.

Eberl’s long-standing Barcola connection

Speaking to Sport Bild, Bayern sporting director Eberl laid bare just how long he has admired Barcola.

"To be honest, I already know Bradley from my time at Leipzig. I wanted to bring him to Leipzig," he said, revealing that the groundwork for their recent pursuit had been laid years earlier.

"We sat down together and discussed it back then," he continued. "That’s how I developed a closer relationship with Bradley. So there was always interest there. Of course, we also looked into him at Bayern."

The interest never turned into a bid that could rival Liverpool’s. The numbers killed it.

"When you hear about sums like that, it was too much for us," Eberl admitted of the £123m fee. "With Luis Diaz, we made a decision that was also costly, but on a different scale than Bradley."

The message was clear: Bayern might still spend, but they will not follow the very top of the Premier League market into that financial stratosphere.

Gordon also priced out of Bayern’s plans

The pattern repeated itself with Gordon.

"It’s no secret that we were interested in Anthony Gordon for the left wing," Eberl conceded. "We decided we were not doing that because he was simply too expensive."

Two prime-age, high-ceiling wingers. Two deals Bayern admired from afar, then walked away from when the figures escalated.

Liverpool, by contrast, went all-in on Barcola. The club identified the France international as their primary answer to the Salah void and moved aggressively, beating off competition from Arsenal. Barcola, a two-time Champions League winner with Paris Saint-Germain, wanted the move. That helped seal it.

The fee makes him the second-most expensive signing in Liverpool’s history, behind club-record buy Alexander Isak, underscoring just how heavily the Reds are betting on his impact in the post-Salah era.

Bayern reset as Liverpool bed in their new star

For Bayern, those missed signings triggered a different kind of summer: a reset rather than a splash.

The German champions brought in Ismael Saibari and Nathaniel Brown, but they also opened the exit door wide. Joao Palhinha, Alexander Nubel, Daniel Peretz, Noel Aseko, Jonah Kusi-Asare, Maurice Krattenmacher, and Lovro Zvornarek all departed the Allianz Arena as the club balanced the books and reshaped the squad around Kompany’s ideas.

While Bayern recalibrated, Barcola got straight to work in England.

Under new Liverpool boss Andoni Iraola, the 24-year-old has already begun to carve out his place. He made his debut as a 60th-minute substitute for fellow new signing Victor Munoz in a 2-0 away win at Ipswich, a gentle introduction to the Premier League grind.

His first start came under the Anfield lights in the Champions League, a far harsher examination. Against Diego Simeone’s Atletico Madrid, Barcola produced bright moments in a 2-1 victory, stretching the game and offering flashes of the direct, incisive play that persuaded Liverpool to pay such a premium.

The intensity told on his body. He went off with cramp shortly after Alexis Mac Allister scored the decisive second-half goal, a reminder that adaptation to Iraola’s demands and English football’s tempo will take careful management.

Liverpool have their man and a clear plan for him. Bayern have their principles and a leaner, retooled squad.

By the end of the season, we will know which approach really belonged at the top table.