Bayern Munich ‘damn it’ reaction to Florian Wirtz loss as senior player tells clubs to ‘do something’

Bayern’s Joshua Kimmich has said the club has to “do something” after they missed on his Germany team-mate Florian Wirtz.

Bayern were thought to be the lead candidate for Wirtz’s signature but a trip to Liverpool convinced the 22-year-old to move to Anfield rather than the Allianz.

The failure to land Wirtz comes at a time when a number of senior figures are walking out the Bayern exit door, most notably Thomas Muller and Leroy Sane.

As a result, Kimmich suggested the club needs to make moves this summer if they are to compete for the title once again next season.

“You’ll have to ask the club what their plans are,” Kimmich said in the mixed zone ahead of the Club World Cup. “Of course, you have the feeling that we could do something – with Flo not coming, with Leroy leaving, with Thomas leaving.”

As for the higher-ups, sporting director Max Eberl revealed the club’s “damn it” response to missing out on Wirtz but suggested they would not have been able to meet his £116m valuation.

“I don’t know if we could have paid the price that Liverpool now apparently has to pay,” he told German newspaper SV. “It was clear, the entire club communicated, that the player was outstanding. And that we could very well have imagined him moving to FC Bayern.

“Now he’s decided differently, even though the talks were very good. Everyone was at the table. But Florian decided otherwise. That’s how it is in the transfer market.

“In the first step, you say: ‘Damn it.’ But one door closes, another opens. Now we’ll reposition ourselves for the future. Florian will make his way at Liverpool. Now we’re trying to find another outstanding player who will be successful with us.”

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Head coach Vincent Kompany was asked about the miss of Qirtz but refused to address the topic.

“Not a topic for me at the moment,” he said at his pre-Club World Cup press conference.” My focus is on the tournament – the solution doesn’t have to come now.

“We are well-equipped. A few players are out with injuries, but we have a really good squad together and we’re excited for the tournament.”