Bayern Munich has started to rebuild its squad as coach Pep Guardiola prepares to leave after three seasons.
Bayern brought in Borussia Dortmund captain Mats Hummels yesterday and signed 18-year-old rising Portuguese star Renato Sanches to one of the richest contracts in Bundesliga history.
The moves come one week after Bayern was eliminated in the semifinals of the Champions League by Atletico Madrid, the third consecutive season Bayern has gone out at the penultimate stage against Spanish opposition.
But Bayern then went on to capture an unprecedented fourth straight Bundesliga title and can complete a domestic double in the German Cup final against Dortmund on May 21, Guardiola’s final match in charge.
Guardiola is leaving to join Manchester City and will be replaced by Carlo Ancelotti.
Hummels, who grew up in Munich and was groomed in Bayern’s junior sides, will sign a five-year deal once the customary medical is completed. The two sides gave no financial details of the transfer, but German media estimated it to be worth 38 million euros (USD43.3 million).
Calling the move a “not an easy decision,” Hummels said he would like nothing better but for Dortmund to lift the German Cup.
“Before I return to my hometown in the summer, we have a big common goal: to again take the cup to Dortmund and celebrate with Dortmund fans in a huge party,” said Hummels, who spent more than eight years in Dortmund. “I will give my best for it, like my teammates.”
Bayern’s head coach Pep Guardiola
Hummels was on the Germany squad that won the 2014 World Cup in Brazil — scoring the winner against France in the quarterfinals — and has been a key player for Dortmund, which will finish runner-
up to Bayern in the Bundesliga when the season concludes on Saturday.
Bayern ran out of trained defenders in the second half of the season through injuries and Hummels will be a welcome addition to the squad.
He will be the third Dortmund player to leave for Bayern in recent seasons, after striker Robert Lewandowski and attacking midfielder Mario Goetze — scorer of Germany’s winning goal against Argentina in the World Cup final two years ago.
Like Lewandowski in 2014, Hummels will play his final match for Dortmund against his new club. Two years ago, Bayern beat Dortmund 2-0 in the German Cup final.
The second arrival, Renato Sanches, is costing Bayern Munich at least 35 million euros ($40 million), with the Bundesliga champion possibly spending an additional 45 million euros depending on performances, such as becoming FIFA player of the year or getting a slot on his national team.
His contract runs through June 2021.
Sanches came through Benfica’s junior ranks, and made his first-team debut in the Portuguese league last October. He has 59 appearances, two goals, and earned broad acclaim.
He made his Portugal debut in March, and has two caps. He has a chance to be in the Portugal squad for the European Championship next month.
“He rates as one of the most talented young players in European football,” and there was “big-name international competition” to sign him, Bayern said in a statement on its website.
It said he passed a medical in Munich on Monday.
Bayern chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said the club had been following Sanches for a long time. Bayern edged out Benfica in the quarterfinals of the Champions League.
“Renato is dynamic, a good tackler, and a technically skilled midfielder who’ll add even more strength to our team,” Rummenigge said. Nesha Starcevic, Frankfurt, AP
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