'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
One of Europe’s true giants, Bayern Munich have dominated German football for the past decade, winning all but two of the last 10 editions of the Bundesliga since the turn of 2010.
Part of that success has been down to some great managers – the likes of Pep Guardiola and Carlo Ancelotti – but a lot of it can also be credited to their excellent record in the transfer market.
Bayern have brought some of the world’s best players to the Allianz Arena over the last decade, including some taken right from under the noses of their domestic rivals.
In chronological order, here are Bayern Munich’s 10 greatest signings over the last decade (2010-2019).
#1 David Alaba (2010)
Technically speaking, versatile Austrian David Alaba moved to Bayern Munich in the decade that preceded the last one, but it was 2010 that saw him make his breakthrough at the club, as he debuted that February by setting up a goal for Franck Ribery in a DFB -Pokal match, becoming the Bavarian side’s youngest ever player in a competitive match in the process.
The summer of 2010 saw him sign his first-ever professional contract, qualifying him for this list, and after spending the majority of 2010-11 on loan at 1899 Hoffenheim, he returned to the Allianz for the start of the 2011-12 season and instantly became a first-team regular.
Over the years that have followed, Alaba has become recognised as one of the world’s best left-backs, winning 17 major trophies with Bayern including the Bundesliga on 8 occasions and the UEFA Champions League, and he’s also been named Austrian Footballer of the Year 6 times too. Still only 27 years old, Alaba’s versatility – he’s also able to play in central midfield although he doesn’t tend to for Bayern – marks him out as a truly great talent, and as one of Die Roten’s best signings.
#2 Manuel Neuer (2011)
It seems hard to believe now, but when Manuel Neuer made his move to Bayern Munich in the summer of 2011 as a free agent, some fans of the Bavarian club were unhappy with the fact that they’d signed a former Schalke player. Almost a decade on, it’d probably be hard to find a fan of Die Roten who doesn’t adore the goalkeeper, who is usually considered amongst the best in the world in his position.
Neuer had a fantastic beginning to his Bayern career, going over 1000 minutes without conceding a goal to break the club’s record for competitive clean sheets, and he also helped his new side to the Champions League final – saving a penalty from the great Cristiano Ronaldo in Bayern’s semi-final win over Real Madrid. But it was under Pep Guardiola – who took charge at the Allianz from the start of the 2013-14 season – that the keeper’s reputation really soared.
Widely recognised as the first ‘sweeper-keeper’, Neuer’s skill with the ball at his feet meant that Bayern essentially used him as an extra outfield player, revolutionising the role of goalkeeper in the process. Guardiola eventually departed Bayern at the end of the 2015-16 season – but Neuer has continued to have success at the club, becoming club captain from the summer of 2017. He’s won an incredible 18 trophies at Bayern, and in 2014, finished 3rd in the prestigious Ballon d’Or award.
#3 Jerome Boateng (2011)
Signed from Manchester City in the summer of 2011 for a fee of just €13.5m, defender Jerome Boateng was already an established German international when he arrived at Bayern Munich, and in the seasons that have followed, he’s made 300 appearances at the Allianz Arena and has become widely recognised as one of the best centre-backs of the decade.
A tough tackler, Boateng felt that he was being wasted at City – who were largely content to use him as a right-back – but at Bayern, he’s been deployed in both that position and also in his preferred centre-back role, and his blend of skill and raw power have given him massive success.
It’s telling that since Boateng arrived at the Allianz, Bayern have only failed to win the Bundesliga title once; if they manage to retain their crown this season, it’ll mark their 8th title victory in a row. At 31 years old now, the defender is perhaps getting past his best, but he’s still an important cog in the Munich machine, and that seems unlikely to change any time soon.
#4 Javi Martinez (2012)
When Bayern Munich paid €40m to meet Javi Martinez’s release clause to bring him from Athletic Bilbao to the Allianz Arena in the summer of 2012, they broke the Bundesliga’s transfer record in the process. Over 7 years on, it’d be hard to claim that the Spaniard hasn’t been worth it; Bayern won the Champions League in his first season at the club and have also claimed 7 Bundesliga titles in a row since his arrival too.
An incredibly versatile player, able to perform in practically any defensive role, the former Bilbao man was largely credited with preventing Barcelona’s trademark tiki-taka style from working during Bayern’s Champions League semi-final win over them in 2013.
It came as no surprise, then, that Martinez largely peaked in Bavaria under the reign of Pep Guardiola from 2013 to 2016, with his passing range and ability to play the ball out from the back marking him as the ideal man for the former Barca boss’s backline.
Only a handful of serious injuries have prevented him from completing more than his current 231 appearances at the Allianz – and as he’s still only 31, it’s likely that he’ll remain at the club for the foreseeable future.
#5 Thiago Alcantara (2013)
One of Pep Guardiola’s first signings at Bayern when the former Barcelona manager took over at the Allianz in the summer of 2013, Thiago Alcantara was brought in from the Spanish boss’s old club for €25m, and some 6 seasons later, that fee now feels like an absolute bargain.
Guardiola was quoted as stating that Thiago was literally the only player he wanted – either him, or no-one – and it’s understandable why. The Spanish international has become renowned as one of the world’s best deep-lying playmakers, with a phenomenal range of passing marking him out amongst his peers; in his 7 seasons at the Allianz, Thiago has registered no lower than an average pass success rate of 88%.
Since arriving in Bavaria, Thiago has won a total of 13 major trophies, including 6 Bundesliga titles, and at 28 years old he remains key to the success of the club in the future. It’s safe to say he’s more than justified his hefty price tag.
#6 Xabi Alonso (2014)
Already renowned as one of the world’s best midfielders by the time he arrived at Bayern in the summer of 2014, Xabi Alonso had won it all during his career, lifting the World Cup and two European Championships with Spain, as well as the Champions League with both Liverpool and Real Madrid.
He spent just 3 seasons in Bavaria, retiring from professional football at the end of the 2016-17 season, but it’d be hard to deny the impact he had during his time at the club. Not only did he help Die Roten to 3 Bundesliga title wins, but he also provided Pep Guardiola’s side with much-needed experience and a calm head in the centre of the park.
Prior to Alonso’s retirement, Guardiola described him as one of the best midfielders he’d ever seen, and that assessment wasn’t far off; he might not have lasted as long as some of the other players named on this list, but the Spaniard was still a truly excellent signing for the Bavarian side and became beloved after making just 117 appearances.
#7 Robert Lewandowski (2014)
Bayern’s signing of Robert Lewandowski in the summer of 2014 marked a watershed moment in the Bundesliga; the Polish striker agreed to move to Bavaria on a free transfer after seeing out the remainder of his contract at the Bavarian side’s biggest rivals for the league title – Borussia Dortmund.
The move felt like a bullying tactic at the time, Bayern simply flexing their financial muscles by offering Lewandowski a bigger contract, but in the years that have followed it’d be hard to claim the Polish hitman has been anything but a huge success. At Dortmund, Lewandowski was excellent, but at Bayern, he’s developed into arguably the world’s best pure striker.
Lewandowski has won 5 successive Bundesliga title since arriving at the Allianz Arena, but his goalscoring feats are what really stand out; he hit 25 in his debut season, but in the following 4 campaigns he managed to score more than 40 goals. And as he currently has 30 in just 25 appearances in 2019-20, he could well smash his personal record of 43 this time around. It’s a remarkable record by anyone’s standards – and marks him out as perhaps Bayern’s greatest signing of the decade.
#8 Joshua Kimmich (2015)
One of the key members of the current Bayern Munich squad, the versatile Joshua Kimmich is arguably amongst the world’s best defensive players currently, and the fee of €7m that Die Roten paid RB Leipzig for his services in January 2015 now seems laughable; ten times that amount probably wouldn’t buy him today.
When Pep Guardiola brought him to the Allianz Arena, Kimmich hadn’t even played a top-flight game in his career; he was just 19 years old and was hugely unproven, but the former Barcelona boss put his faith in him and while he departed Bayern just months after the player’s arrival, it’s easy to see why he rated him so highly.
Capable of playing both as a right-back and as a defensive midfielder, Kimmich has a fantastic range of passing, is an incredibly tenacious tackler, and in 2018-19, finished second in the Bundesliga for the number of assists registered with an impressive total of 13. Essentially, he’s filled the hole left by the legendary Philipp Lahm, who retired in 2017 – and judging by his development thus far, he could even surpass the former Bayern captain.
#9 Arturo Vidal (2015)
Recognised as one of the best midfielders in the world during his period with Juventus from 2011 to 2015, Chile’s Arturo Vidal joined Bayern in the summer of 2015 for a fee of around €40m and immediately added some much-needed bite to their side. A combative player, Il Guerriero (‘The Warrior’) won three successive Bundesliga titles at the Allianz before departing for Barcelona in the summer of 2018.
Essentially able to play in any position in the middle of the park, Vidal was largely deployed as a box-to-box man during his time at Bayern, regularly being used to break down opposition attacks and regain possession before moving the ball forward – but unlike a regular holding man, he was also capable of scoring plenty, finishing 3rd in Die Roten’s scoring charts in 2016-17 with 9 goals.
At the end of his final season with Bayern, he was christened as “the most complete midfielder in the world” by the Bundesliga’s official website, and at his best, it would’ve been hard to disagree with that assessment. He may not have spent as long at the Allianz as some of Bayern’s other big signings, but Vidal certainly made a huge impact during his time there.
#10 Mats Hummels (2016)
Not content with stealing away Borussia Dortmund’s best striker on a free transfer when they signed Robert Lewandowski in the summer of 2014, Bayern rubbed more salt into the wounds of their rivals when they also signed their best defender – Mats Hummels – in the summer of 2016 when his contract at the club expired.
A World Cup winner with Germany in 2014, Hummels was already known as one of the world’s best centre-backs when he joined Bayern to form a formidable partnership with Jerome Boateng in the heart of Die Roten’s defence. He won three straight Bundesliga titles during his time at the Allianz Arena – being practically ever-present in each season outside of periods in which he was injured.
After being named in the Bundesliga’s Team of the Season on two occasions, Hummels left Bayern to return to Dortmund in the summer of 2019. In a move that made him even more of a smart signing for the Bavarian side, they were able to fetch a huge fee of €37m for him – making a massive profit on a player who had already turned 30 years old and who had joined them for nothing.
