Criticism of Eberl persists: what Bayern insiders hold against him

Max Eberl is facing massive criticism at FC Bayern . Behind the scenes, his leadership style is increasingly being questioned, and a provocative comparison is being made to his predecessor.

The transfer window is over, yet there is still unrest at Säbener Straße. At the center of the discussions: Sports director Max Eberl. According to information from SPORT1 , internal dissatisfaction with his working methods is growing. Among the criticisms is that the 51-year-old allegedly did not regularly show up on-site during crucial phases. Instead of showing personal presence, he often joined digitally or was sometimes not reachable at all – an approach that does not sit well in the traditional Bayern environment.

Especially in comparison to his predecessor Hasan Salihamidzic, Eberl fares poorly. As Stefan Kumberger explains in the podcast Die Bayern-Woche : "Eberl stands a bit in contrast to Hasan Salihamidzic, who was credited with constant activity. This was particularly appreciated by Hoeneß."

Rumors of a possible resignation have been circulating since the end of the transfer window. According to a report by tz , Eberl gave the impression during a supervisory board meeting that he was not averse to stepping down. Subsequently, the board has already internally considered such a scenario – a development that would be quite explosive given the tense personnel situation at the club.

A sticking point in the internal debate, according to the report, was the directive from Uli Hoeneß to handle late transfers only as loans. A strategy that Eberl publicly supported, but internally it apparently remained controversial. Publicly, he emphasized that there was "no bad blood" between him and Hoeneß, but he also spoke of "different thoughts."

However, currently, a resignation is reportedly not on Eberl's agenda. As Sky reports, the sports director plans to return to daily business after a short vacation. In the coming weeks, the contract extension with Dayot Upamecano is likely to be high on the agenda.

Eberl's appearance before the league opener against Leipzig also drew attention. The sports director appeared visibly tense. Kumberger interpreted this as: "There is a difference between someone giving the impression that they will soon resign and actually having those thoughts."

Amid the speculations, CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen spoke up – and defended his colleague. Speaking to Sky , he said: "A lot is being written, and a different story is told every day. It's best to take note of it or – even better – just ignore it."

Dreesen also made it clear that the responsibility for the summer transfer results rests on multiple shoulders: "All of us at FC Bayern – and this does not only concern Max Eberl – stand for this team, for this transfer window, we share this responsibility. Therefore, it is neither fair nor correct to attribute the good or the bad to a single person. We are a team, and we will prove that this season."

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.