Bayern again, of course – Game of the People
GERMAN football may not be in the best frame of mind after the 2026 World Cup, but the country’s top club side, Bayern Munich, was represented by 11 different nationalities in North America and only five players were part of the national team’s squad. Germany’s failure should not disrupt Bayern’s pursuit of yet another Bundesliga title in 2026-27.
Bayern Munich kick-off the new campaign on August 28 with a home fixture against VFB Stuttgart, the team they beat in the DFB Pokal final to clinch the double last season. While VFB have a good chance of finishing among the top four, Bayern should have enough to remind people of the gulf between them and the rest of the Bundesliga. Harry Kane’s time at Bayern has been a phenomenal success and he has improved as a player, despite his obvious vintage. How long the likeable Kane, a genuine candidate for the 2026 Ballon d’Or, can continue at his current pace is open to debate and Bayern will surely have one eye on succession. They have not been overactive in the market this summer, signing PSV Eindhoven’s Ismael Saibari and Frankfurt’s Nathaniel Brown, possibly because they simply don’t need to spend too much at the moment.
German clubs have been involved in some big deals in the current transfer window, but most of them concern players leaving the Bundesliga for foreign clubs. The most notable transactions have been Yann Diomande’s move from RB Leipzig to Real Madrid for € 125 million, Aston Villa’s purchase of Johan Manzambi from Freiburg and Piero Hincapie’s permanent transfer to Arsenal. None of these players are German, unlike Bayern’s new € 50 million full back, Brown, who has been capped eight times by Die Mannschaft and scored his first international goal in the World Cup against Curaçao.
Bayern’s dominance is so strong – 122 goals in 34 games in 2025-26 – that opponents realise the best they can hope for are “little triumphs” and a stab at European qualification. At present, Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig are Bayern’s closest rivals and they will have their sights set on a lucrative Champions League place in 2027-28. Dortmund have unloaded some players, notably Karim Adeyemi who was sold to Barcelona for € 22 million, but they have spent € 30 million on Greek midfielder Konstantinos Karetsas from Genk and € 20 million on Ivorian defender Joane Gadou from Salzburg.
Leipzig lost Diomande and Loïs Openda (to Juventus), bringing in well over € 160 million, and have a new manager in Martin Demichelis. An interesting arrival at the Red Bull club is their former striker, Christopher Nkunku, who is on loan from AC Milan, the club where he sought refuge after his disappointing time at Chelsea.
Stuttgart, a club that seems to be in the ascendancy on and off the pitch, already had a very decent squad, but added to it during the window. They picked up Wolfsburg’s striker Dženan Pejčinović for € 21 million, paid € 12. 5 million for Feyenoord’s Leo Sauer and € 15 million for Leicester City’s Bilal El Khannouss. They finished fourth last season and reached the Pokal final, but could improve on that performance. Bayer Leverkusen missed out on Champions League football, finishing sixth and this effectively cost Kasper Hjulmand his job. They now have a new manager in the Spaniard Carles Martínez, the former coach of Toulouse. Two major signings have been added to the Leverkusen squad – defender Miguel Gutiérrez from Napoli (€ 26 million) and striker Afonso Moreira from Lyon (€ 29 million).
The three promoted sides, Schalke, Paderborn and Elversberg, will have be challenged to stay in the top flight. Schalke, one of Germany’s best supported but underachieving clubs, have been desperate to get back to the Bundesliga. They still have veteran striker Edin Džeko on their books, but have they got enough to avoid a quick return to the second tier?
In this current era of Bayern supremacy (2013-2026), they have been deposed once, by Bayer. Leverkusen in 2024. Since Vincent Kompany’s appointment in 2024, Bayern have lost just three Bundesliga games and have scored 221 goals. It is difficult to see anyone preventing them from maintaining this impressive momentum.
Photo: Omar Ramadan via Unsplash.
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