Tuesday, 11th November, 2014
Bayern Munich CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge believes that the club signing Mario Gotze and Robert Lewandowski from Borussia Dortmund was good for the Bundesliga, as had the Bavarians not acted then the duo would have left Germany.
The German champions have been criticised for raiding Borussia Dortmund, in what has been seen as systematic weakening of their biggest domestic rivals.
First Gotze headed to the Allianz Arena in 2013, followed by Lewandowski this summer. Marco Reus has been heavily linked with making the same journey next summer.
And Rummenigge thinks Bayern Munich have done German football a favour.
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"If we had not attracted them, they would now be playing somewhere abroad", the CEO told Der Spiegel.
"They make the league attractive.
"Gotze got a great offer from Manchester City and Real Madrid wanted Lewandowski. Would that have been better for the Bundesliga?"
Rummenigge also offered a tempting hint of a potential move for Reus in 2015.
"We know what qualities he has and we know the clause in his contract.
"A young German international with such qualities might be interesting for us, but I do not want to cause bad feelings in Dortmund by speaking too much about it."
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