The Bundesliga Connection

Bayern Munich are no strangers to big-money moves to allow for a better squad and that is why it is no surprise that the Bavarian giants are rumoured to prepare a monster offer of close to €90 million (R1.5 Billion) for former Ajax and current Juventus youngster Matthijs de Ligt. Juventus have said that any offer less than €70 million (R1.2 Billion) will be disregarded, hence the bump up from Bayern. Bayern have recently added to their squad with Sadio Mane, joining from Liverpool, and Ryan Gravenberch who joined from Ajax. De Ligt is only 22 years old so this could be a very worthy investment as the Dutch centre-back has pretty much won everything possible. He is incredibly commanding in defence and a natural-born leader.

The only potential downside to De Ligt joining Bayern would be that the 32-time Bundesliga winners have a plethora of center-backs, with some having only been there for a season (Dayot Upamecano). The quality Bayern possess is no joke, but luckily, the defensive lineup is never set in stone. Julian Nagelsmann loves to switch things up, however, he has mentioned that he wants Ben Pavard to be a chief Captain (to Neuer) on the pitch.

After weeks of speculation around the sale of Robert Lewandowski, the latest to come out of the Bayern camp is that he isn’t going to be sold just yet. The Polish striker has made it clear that he wants to leave the Bavarian giants after saying ‘I felt like something died within me.’ Bayern have their reservations about selling their player, of course for over-market value.

Lewandowski’s agent promised Barcelona that for €40 million, Lewa would join the Catalan outfit, well 3 offers later and over said price, still nothing. Questions about Barcelona being able to increase the bid are being asked, but thanks to some bizarre business, Barcelona has around €200 million to play with. Could we see Robert Lewandowski don the Catalan fit?

Later in the show, DW Sports correspondent Kres Harrington explains why new signing Sadio Mane might miss some pre-season matches with Bayern. Kres also presents some exciting news that came across his radar this week!

After weeks of debate and negotiation, Sadio Mane has officially signed for Bayern Munich, on a contract that sees him earn a staggering €380 000 a week, joining some of the highest-paid players in the world. The Senegalese superstar will don the number 17 jersey and could make his debut in their opening friendly against Manchester City or in the German Super Cup.

More news coming out of Bayern is that Robert Lewandowksi is edging closer and closer to Bayern Munich, a ‘deal’ that has been spoken about in detail for many weeks. The reports out of Spain suggest Bayern are asking €60 million for the Polish striker.

Later in the show, Kres discusses the surprise contract extensions of Christopher Nkunku, who for weeks, looked to be leaving RB Leipzig. The Frenchman has extended his contract by 2 years, meaning he’ll stay with the bulls until 2026.

Bayern Munich have hit the headlines once again this past week thanks to the announcement of Sadio Mane for an agreed fee of €32 million. Mane is set to leave Liverpool after spending 7 seasons with the Merseyside outfit, scoring 196 goals and accumulating a fair amount of silverware. This move however has ruffled some feathers of other Bundesliga sides as it seems as if Bayern was the only side that could splash the cash for the 30-year-old Senegalese star.

Thomas Muller has spoken out against the Ballon d’Or award claiming that it is near impossible for a German player to win the award, stating that teamwork is engraved into the players’ minds at a young age, whereas the Ballon d’Or has seen individual brilliance claiming the award. “There will never be another Lothar Matthaus.”

On the latest episode of the Bundesliga connection, DW Sports correspondent Kres Harrington breaks down Mane’s move to Bayern Munich and speaks about Thomas Muller and the Ballon d’Or.

The UEFA Nations League has continued into the second week of the tournament, with draws seeming to be the common denominator amongst the bigger European sides. The sad reality of this competition is that no team that participates in all the other major tournaments cares for the Nations League. Many players such as Kevin de Bruyne have spoken out against the Nations League, questioning its relevance. Germany national coach Hansi Flick mentioned that the format of the league, the games being Back to back to back, and the congestion is too much for the players having just come out of a full Bundesliga, DFB Pokal, and UCL year, being squished into a shorter space of time due to the previous 2 years of the Covid 19 pandemic. The players are fatigued and to make matters worse, the Bundesliga 2022/23 season will start a week earlier to compensate for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

Later in the show, the questions circulating Sadio Mane’s move to Bayern Munich get answered and Kres speaks on the eagles of Eintracht Frankfurt (winners of the 2021/22 UEL) facing Real Madrid in the UEFA Super Cup

Before the UEFA Champions League final, Senegalese superstar Sadio Mane mentioned that a message will be delivered after the match, the winger lived up to this promise with the message being that he wants to leave Liverpool. Liverpool have explained that 2 conditions need to be met for Mane to leave.

DW Sports correspondent Kres Harrington has looked into this rumoured move and has explained that 3 things need to happen for this move to be more feasible; Gnabry and Lewandowski need to leave the club (they each have reasons behind wanting a move) and Nagelsmann needs to find a place for the 30-year old.

Let's not forget that top-flight football in England is considered to be the pinnacle of league football, overpowering Germany, meaning that should Sadio Mane leave Liverpool, he will in theory be downgrading his career. But on the contrary, he could be joining a beast of a team on the pitch in Bayern Munich. “One thing that needs to be made clear is that Germany isn’t for everyone,” Harrington explains.

After a season of being called “a plastic club,” the Bulls of RB Leipzig silenced the haters by grabbing the DFB-Pokal trophy after beating SC Freiburg on Penalties this past weekend. The bulls had to fight until the very end, finishing the 120 minutes with only 9 men on the field after both Marcel Halstenberg and Kevin Kampl saw straight reds! The star of the show yet again was 24-year-old French striker Christopher Nkunku. The maestro scored Leipzig’s goal and slotted his penalty. This was the only reason Nkunku was in the tabloids this past week; The striker also won the Bundesliga Player Of The Season, beating the likes of Robert Lewandowski, Erling Haaland, and Florian Wirts. Nkunku set the record for the most Player Of The Month awards this season, after winning 4, with 2 being back to back.

On the latest episode of the Bundesliga Connection, DW Sports correspondent and German football expert Kres Harrington discusses Nkunku’s record-breaking season, Eintracht Frankfurts’ UEFA Europa League Final win over Rangers, and how RB Leipzig silenced the haters.

After Scoring on the final matchday of the Bundesliga season, Robert Lewandowski has hinted that Bayern’s draw against Wolfsburg could be his last game for the Bavarian Giants. “Lewa” has been in the talking space for quite some time now amidst conversations regarding his contact and how he has officially confirmed that he will not extend with Bayern. The 33-year-old striker’s contract ends in 2023, but it looks like the Pole doesn’t want to stay with Bayern. Barcelona seem to be leading the race for Lewa's signature with no regard to his age as he has started every game for Bayern in the league this season, showing his durability.

During the final matchday, Stuttgart managed to survive relegation after the winning goal was scored by Wataru Endo in extra time (90 + 2). Hertha Berlin succumbed to a fiery fight back by Borussia Dortmund, which now sees them in the relegation play-off spot; this match was also Erling Haaland’s last match for BVB and he managed to get onto the score sheet yet again.

On the latest episode of the Bundesliga Connection, DW Sports correspondent and German football expert Kres Harrington breaks down the Robert Lewandowski transfer rumour and discusses the upcoming UEL Final which sees Eintracht Frankfurt feature against Rangers. This could be the chance for the German outfit to get their hands on some silverware after some 30 years.

Last week Manchester City were beaten intensely by Real Madrid to fall short of the UEFA Champions League yet again, but this week it seems as if they’ve stolen the headlines for a different reason. Reports coming out of Manchester is that the citizens have ‘agreed’ personal terms with one of the brightest young talents in the Bundesliga; Erling Haaland. The 21-year-old’s release clause looks like it will kick in during the upcoming transfer window, with Manchester City ready to take action. Should this deal be complete, Haaland would play for the same team as his father did between 2000 and 2003. It looks as though Pep Guardiola has beaten the likes of Real Madrid, Paris-Saint Germain, and Bayern Munich to acquire the efforts of Europe's wunderkind.

In other news, Schalke 04 are set to return to the top flight of German football after beating St Pauli 3-2 in a must-win fixture. Schalke shockingly were relegated last season after a serious string of bad results. Turning to European competitions, the Rangers were too strong for the Bulls of Leipzig; The Scottish outfit beat RB Leipzig 3-2 on aggregate to proceed to the Europa League final. The other semi-final was between West Ham and Eintracht Frankfurt.

The Germans were too strong for Declan Rice’s men, seeing out that match 1-0 (3-1 agg); setting up a final with the Rangers.

With only 3 matches left in this year’s UEFA Europa League, (2 semi-finals and the final) the two German sides that are left seem to both have a foot in the final. In the first leg, Frankfurt managed to beat West Ham 2-1 and the bulls of RB Leipzig overcame Rangers 1-0. Both the Hammers and Rangers will be doing everything they can to overturn these deficits, however, this could be an historic day for the Bundesliga as two German sides have never met in the UEL final before. Of course with Bayern Munich having been knocked out of the UEFA Champions League, all hope was almost lost for the German faithful.

Breaking news this week is that Super Agent Mino Raiola sadly passed away from illness. Raiola was one of the most powerful sports agents, having players such as Haaland, Zlatan, and Pogba.

On the latest episode of the Bundesliga Connection, DW Sports Correspondent and German football expert Kres Harrington breaks down the upcoming UEL semi-finals which could see an all-German final with Frankfurt and Leipzig. Kres also pays respect to Mino Raiola and elaborates on another Haaland record.