5 players you didn't know played for Bayern Munich

Lukas Podolski spent three years with Bayern Munich
Lukas Podolski spent three years with Bayern Munich

#2 Owen Hargreaves

Owen Hargreaves
Owen Hargreaves

An outstanding talent who never fully showcased his god-given abilities, Owen Hargreaves is, in fact, a Bayern Munich youth product. He joined the Bavarian academy in 1997 at the age of 16 and spent two years in the institution before making his debut for the reserve side.

Hargreaves made his Bayern Munich debut in 2000 and was part of the starting lineup that played Valencia in the 2001 Champions League final. The next couple of seasons saw the Englishman securing his place as a regular in the Bavarian midfield.

A series of injuries and a chance to return to his home nation saw the midfielder leaving the Bundesliga giants to join Manchester United in 2007. After a bright start to life in Manchester, he soon found himself on the injury list more than on the teamsheet. After his first season, the midfielder made just five appearances before leaving the club.

Four years later, Hargreaves made the move to join arch-rivals Manchester City after the Red Devils refused to offer a new contract. It was the same old story at the Etihad as he made just four appearances for the Citizens before finally deciding to call it a day in 2012.

During his ten-year stay at the Allianz Arena, Hargreaves made 218 appearances and scored 10 times for the Bavarian giants.


#3 Mark Hughes

Mark Hughes spent two seasons with the German giants
Mark Hughes spent two seasons with the German giants

Manchester United legend Mark Hughes had a brief loan spell at Bayern Munich during his 22-year long career. He had joined Barcelona in 1988 after eight seasons with the Red Devils but failed to make it at the club, resulting in him being loaned out to the Munich titans during the 1987-88 season.

The former Wales international had an impressive spell with the Bavarian giants as he regained his old goalscoring form. He found the net seven times during 23 appearances for the German club.

Hughes returned to Barcelona at the end of the loan spell but soon found himself back at the Theatre of Dreams after Sir Alex Ferguson broke a club record fee to re-sign the forward. The striker went onto become an integral part of United's first Premier League team.

The Welshman then made a move to Chelsea in 1995, ending a seven-season stay with the Red Devils. Three seasons with the Blues was followed by stints at Southampton, Everton, and Blackburn before he finally called it a day in 2002.

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