Bayern respond to a potential 200 million bid for Olise

Bayern Munich look like a machine this season. And as the campaign approaches its climax—when trophies are decided—the team led by Vincent Kompany is playing better and better. Club legend, both as a player and later as an executive, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge spoke in a wide-ranging interview for T-Online about various topics, and among them the potential transfer of their most valuable star, Michael Olise. The Frenchman had a fantastic season and is one of the reasons that the Bavarians are on the verge of doing a treble. His transfer from Crystal Palace proved to be a hit and a his potential move away from the club in future cannot be ignored.

But when asked what would Bayern do if an offer of 200 million arrives for the Frenchman, Rummenigge gave a very clear answer.

“He’s a wonderful player. I also appreciate how reserved and almost shy he is in front of the media—that’s rare nowadays. He’s a great guy, and on the pitch he’s exceptional—the way he plays football is almost magical. That’s why it doesn’t surprise me how popular he is among our fans. Let me tell you a story from the past. In 2009, we received an incredible offer from Chelsea FC for Franck Ribery. At the time, it would have been a world-record transfer. I took that offer to our then financial director Karl Hopfner and to Uli Hoeness. We talked for two hours, trying to decide what to do. That day we made a fundamental decision: in the future, we would never sell a player we would miss on the pitch. And that unwritten rule still applies today. For a player like Olise, there is no price that would make us back down” he explained.

Ballon d'Or contender? For sure!

Rummenigge also talked about the players which Bayern wanted to buy but eventually failed: Ousmane Dembele and Desire Doue.

“I was personally involved in the Dembele case. We were determined to sign him, but Borussia Dortmund beat us to it. At the time, Dembele was playing for Stade Rennais FC, whose owners were also linked with Puma. Dortmund had a contract with Puma, so it was clear that we, as a club sponsored by Adidas, wouldn’t have priority. Dembele was a wonderful player, but as we saw, he quickly left Dortmund and moved to FC Barcelona. Doue? We really wanted to sign him—he would have fit perfectly with us. But he chose Paris because he wanted to stay in France. Inevitably, we will miss out on some players in the future, because other clubs may offer more money. We have to accept that—it’s part of the business” said the German legend.

Thanks for everything and - goodbye!

Rummenigge was also asked about Harry Kane and his upcoming contract extension.

“Bringing Harry Kane to Bayern Munich was a major achievement in the club’s history. It’s well known he had a release clause. He didn’t activate it, signaling he will definitely stay in Munich. Now the club’s management will, as agreed, hold talks with him after the season with the clear goal of extending his contract. Because Harry has undergone another transformation under Kompany. He has always been a great striker who scores a lot of goals. But now he is also a playmaker—dropping into midfield and using his excellent long passes to bring Michael Olise and Luis Díaz into play. That is very important for our style of play” he explained.