If Bayern Munich's first game of pre-season is anything to go by they might not need Tottenham striker Harry Kane - having beaten Rottach-Egern 27-0.

Thirteen players got on the score sheet, with Jamal Musiala, Mathys Tel and Marcel Sabitzer grabbing five each.

Sabitzer, who was on loan at Manchester United last season, scored his five goals in 22 second-half minutes.

It was 18-0 at half-time before amateur side Rottach-Egern limited Bayern to nine goals after the break.

Serge Gnabry, with a hat-trick, Alphonso Davies, Konrad Laimer, Noussair Mazraoui, Dayot Upamecano, Leroy Sane, Raphael Guerreiro, Ryan Gravenberch, Kingsley Coman and Sadio Mane were the other players to score.

Bayern Munich, who have been linked with Kane this summer, beat the same opposition 23-0 in 2019.

Bayern manager Thomas Tuchel was not in a charitable mood on Tuesday as he fielded a full-strength XI for the first match of pre-season. A star-studded team featuring Leroy Sane, Jamal Musiala, Serge Gnabry and Joshua Kimmich took the field at the Stadion am Birkenmoos and gave fans plenty of value for their €10 tickets.

He managed to keep Sadio Mane frustrated right until the 89th minute, when the former Liverpool forward finally blasted in. His face did not show even a flicker of satisfaction, however, as he jogged back to the half-way line.

Bayern are no strangers to smashing a truckload of goals past wholly unsuitable opposition. In fact, they have made a habit of trouncing Rottach-Egern in the summer, having rolled them over 23-0 in 2019 and 20-0 in 2016.

In a recent media interaction, Joshua Kimmich, the 29-year-old midfielder of Bayern Munich revealed that he is planning to decide his future as soon as possible, as he will not wait until the summer transfer window of 2025 to finalize his decision. Kimmich has not made it clear whether he will stay at the German club or not, but his statement will surely make him one of the most sought-after players in the upcoming winter transfer window. 

Joshua Kimmich's Statement 

"I will not wait until summer,"

"I will sit down in winter and then try to see the bigger picture. And make the right decision."

Kimmich's contract situation with Bayern

Joshua Kimmich's contract with Bayern Munich will expire in June 2025, but there have been no reported talks with the club to pen down his contract extension until November. However, recent speculations in November 2024 suggested that Kimmich might stay at his current club, and he is on the verge of signing a new contract. Christoph Freund, the Sporting Director of Bayern has also spoken up regarding the matter in a press conference on December 2. 

"We’re in good talks. Of course our wish would be to complete the deals as soon as possible. But the most important thing is that in the end there would be a positive result and that they extend. It doesn’t matter whether a week earlier or three weeks later. We are positive about both cases,

The German international did not reveal anything about the ongoing talks with the club, but he has not ruled out the possibility of moving to a new club in the January transfer window. Kimmich is one of the highest earners in the current Bayern squad, which may lead to different complications in renewing his contract. Bayern officials are not willing to release Kimmich on a free transfer and a contract extension cannot be considered off the cards. 

Previous links with different clubs

Previously, Kimmich has been heavily linked up with FC Barcelona to be the potential replacement for Dutch midfielder Frenkie De Jong. However, Barcelona could not afford the transfer fees asked by Bayern to sell the German midfielder. However, Kimmich did not rule out the possibility of playing for the Catalan club and Barcelona will again try to pursue their target to sign the player who will be a free agent on 1 July 2025. Barcelona can be confident as they have appointed Hansi Flick as the head coach last summer, who also coached Kimmich during his Bayern tenure. 

However, Paris Saint-Germain has been monitoring Kimmich's situation as well, and they have reportedly joined the race to secure his services. On the other hand, another Spanish giant Real Madrid has reportedly joined the race to get his signing. According to reports by SkySports Germany in November 2024, Real Madrid is eyeing Joshua Kimmich as a potential replacement for French youngster Aurelin Tchouameni. If Kimmich does not renew his contract with the Bavarians, the transfer window will surely witness a long-going tussle between clubs to sign the player on a free transfer. 

New manager Vincent Kompany has also failed to overturn Bayern Munich's terrible series of results in the DFB Pokal in recent years. Bayern have been eliminated from the 2024-25 DFB Pokal Round of 16 last night, losing by 0-1 to defending champions Bayer Leverkusen. 

Manuel Neuer faced an early red card which gave Bayern a tough blow in this crucial knock-out game. Bayern played over 70 minutes with 10 men but could not break the deadlock as Nathan Tella's only goal secured the victory for the defending champions. 

Bayern Munich have now gone five seasons in the DFB Pokal without making the final ❌🏆 pic.twitter.com/G13I8D0AJR

— LiveScore (@livescore) December 3, 2024

Bayern is eliminated from the 2024-25 DFB Pokal 

Vincent Kompany had to field Bayern's starting eleven without the most important piece of his puzzle – Harry Kane who had already scored 20 goals in 19 games this season across all competitions. Kane suffered a hamstring injury blow and he is expected to return by the end of the year. 

However, the woes continued for Bayern, as goalkeeper Manuel Neuer charged at a running Jeremie Frimpong in the 17th minute of the game. He nearly got past Neuer as the Bayern keeper came far off the line but he took Frimpong down. The referee did not take time to send Neuer off, which is remarkably the very first red card of the legendary keeper's career. 

However, the game showcased a neck-to-neck fight but the reigning title holders emerged victorious at the end. Nathan Tella came on the pitch as a substitute in the 61st minute, and he scored an emphatic header in the 69th minute to draw the first blood. Bayern kept pushing and they came close to finding the equalizer but failed to produce any. 

Bayern Leverkusen progressed to the Quarter-Finals and they will fiercely continue their journey to defend the coveted title. 

Bayern Munich: DFB Pokal results in recent years

Bayern have faced worrying results in the DFB Pokal in recent years, with their last title coming in the 2019-20 season under manager Hansi Flick. Since Flick left Bayern, three managers have taken up the hot-seat of Bayern's head coach – Julian Nagelsmann, Thomas Tuchel, and now Vincent Kompany. But all of them failed to enter the semi-finals of DFB Pokal. 

The best result for the Bavaraians came in the 2022-23 season when they reached the Quarter-Finals under Thomas Tuchel, but faced a 1-2 defeat against SC Freiburg.

There have been two instances where Bayern faced some unbelievable defeats. Bundesliga 2 side Holstein Kiel knocked Bayern out of the tournament after beating them 6-5 on penalties in the second-round match-up of the 2020-21 DFB Pokal. In the 2023-24 season, Bayern faced a shock defeat in the second round of the 2023-24 DFB Pokal as FC Saarbrücken, a third-tier German league side knocked Bayern out by beating them 2-1. 

Harry Kane has touched the benchmark of scoring 50 goals in Bundesliga and he has done it in a very special way. Kane became the fastest-ever player to score 50 Bundesliga goals as he completed the feat in 43 Bundesliga games. 

Kane reached the 50-goal tally in Bundesliga after his scintillating hat-trick in Bayern's 3-0 victory over Augsburg in the Bundesliga last night. 

The Bayern forward is in formidable form this season, having already scored 20 goals in 17 games across all competitions for Bayern Munich.

Harry Kane recreated the Bundesliga logo 😅 pic.twitter.com/hBgj3efB2c

— ESPN UK (@ESPNUK) November 22, 2024

The English goal-machine 

Harry Kane joined Bayern Munich in 2023 following his departure from Tottenham. In his first season, Kane scored 36 goals in 32 Bundesliga matches for the German side and registered 8 goals in the UEFA Champions League last season.

Harry Kane finished as the top scorer in both cases and earned the European Golden Shoe Award for his brilliance. 

However, Kane is eyeing another Golden Boot win, as he has already registered 20 goals so far this season in 17 games, whereas he has now scored 14 goals in 11 Bundesliga games while also providing 7 assists. 

However, Harry Kane has broken Erling Haaland's record of scoring 50 goals in 50 Bundesliga games for Borussia Dortmund, before he opted to move to Manchester City in 2022. 

Kane has also scored 5 penalties among the 14 he scored. He spoke to DAZN after the Augsburg game regarding the penalties: 

"I work on them a lot, they're a big part of the game. They helped us again today.

"Of course I've missed many at training, but that's the time to miss them."

Kane's dream scoring spree continues as he has already scored three hat-tricks in Bundesliga including the Augsburg match last night, and it will be very interesting to see where Kane's goalscoring tally reaches this season! 

Manchester City has failed to win a UEFA Champions League match since May 2022 as Sporting CP crushed the English side by 4-1 with Viktor Gyökeres scoring a hat-trick. Ruben Amorim's brigade ends Manchester City's record unbeaten run of 26 games in the UCL. 

Manchester City lose their first match in the Champions League since May 2022.

They set the longest unbeaten streak in the UCL (26 games).

What a run 👏 pic.twitter.com/k5G3jD5yqW

— B/R Football (@brfootball) November 5, 2024

Pep Guardiola's men broke United's record of 25-game unbeaten streak in City's last UCL outing against Sparta Praha last week, making it more memorable with a 5-0 win. However, the defeat to Sporting has ended City's record-breaking 26-match unbeaten run which is the longest unbeaten run in the UCL.

Man City set a 𝗡𝗘𝗪 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗 for longest unbeaten run in #UCL history (𝟮𝟲 𝗴𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘀) 🥇🆕 pic.twitter.com/awt7kv3s72

— LiveScore (@livescore) October 23, 2024

Although Man City broke the record set by their long-standing rival Manchester United; the Red Devils are the only team to maintain an unbeaten streak of more than 15 games three times in different periods. 

Here are the longest unbeaten runs in the UEFA Champions League:

1. Manchester City | 26 games (2022-2024)

Manchester City's unbeaten run started in September 2022 whereas their last defeat before that came against Real Madrid in the second leg of the 2021-22 UCL semi-final where they lost 1-3 to the eventual champions. 

Following that defeat at Bernabeu, Manchester City went on to be undefeated in 26 UCL matches consisting of 18 wins and 8 draws. During this period, Manchester City lifted their maiden UEFA Champions League trophy in their historic treble-winning 2022-23 season.

Manchester City’s 2023 Champions League Campaign is one of the Greatest!

- Group Winners
- Invincibles
- Knocked out Real Madrid
- Knocked out Bayern Munich
- Defeat Inter Milan in the Final pic.twitter.com/rBuH0UfzVk

— City Chief (@City_Chief) July 6, 2023

Manchester City could not retain the title next season, but their exit came in the Quarter-finals after two draws in both legs and Real Madrid knocked City out in penalties.

However, City extended their unbeaten run to 25 games after thrashing Slovan Bratislava by 4-0 and broke the all-time record and stretched it to 26 games after crushing Sparta Praha by 5-0 last matchday. Now their run comes to an end after losing 1-4 to Sporting CP on 6 November 2024.

2. Manchester United | 25 games (2007-2009)

Manchester United remained unbeaten for 25 games from September 2007 to May 2009 when they lost 0-2 to FC Barcelona in the 2008-09 UCL Final. The Red Devils' unbeaten run started with a 1-0 victory over Sporting CP, and it was Cristiano Ronaldo who scored the only goal. 

However, their stint included the 2007-08 UCL Final when they defeated Chelsea in a penalty shoot-out. This one remains as of the most iconic undefeated UCL-winning campaigns.

On this day in 2008: #MUFC lifted the Champions League trophy after a penalty shootout win over #CFC. pic.twitter.com/YfFrqufNeL

— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) May 21, 2015

However, Sir Alex Ferguson and his Red Devils continued their streak and reached a second consecutive UCL Final in the 2008-09 season. Barcelona ensured a 2-0 victory over Manchester United and United's unbeaten streak ended as well. 

3. Ajax Amsterdam | 20 games (1985-1996)

Ajax is only the third team to remain unbeaten in the Champions League for 20+ games and the Dutch side made the record in a 10-and-a-half-year period; extended to both the European Cup and the Champions League era!

Ajax's unbeaten run of 20 games reigned for this extensive period of time due to an incident that led Ajax to get banned from European competitions for a year in 1990 and they could not qualify from 1985 to 1988 and 1991 to 1993. 

Ajax was banned for a year from participating in European competitions following their 1989-90 UEFA Cup defeat against Austria Wien where an Ajax fan threw a bar towards the ground during the match and Wien's keeper Franz Wohlfahrt got injured. 

Ajax triumphed in the #UCLfinal against Milan #OnThisDay in 1995... pic.twitter.com/k9PUIHR0oa

— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) May 24, 2016

However, the return of Ajax to the UCL remains iconic to date for their undefeated 1994-95 UCL-winning campaign as the Louis Van Gaal-coached side beat AC Milan by 1-0 in the final. Ajax's unbeaten run ended in a 0-1 defeat to Panathinaikos in the first leg of the 1995-96 UCL semi-final.

4. Bayern Munich | 19 games (2019-2021) 

Bayern Munich kept their unbeaten streak intact for 19 matches from 2019 to 2021, which included their undefeated UCL victory in the 2019-20 season during the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Bayern dominated their group by winning 6 out of 6 games and in the knock-out stages as well; with crushing Barcelona by 8-2 in the quarter-final. The Bavarians also became the first-ever team to win every match in a UCL campaign and maintain a 100% win record.

🏆 INVINCIBLES 💪

🔴 Bayern = 1st side in history to lift the trophy having won every game in a UCL season (11 games, 11 wins) 💯#UCLfinal pic.twitter.com/HvuRNSmEIQ

— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) August 24, 2020

However, Bayern's 19-game streak ended in a 2-3 defeat against Paris Saint-Germain in the first leg of the 2020-21 UCL quarter-final.

5. Bayern Munich | 19 games (2001-2002)

Bayern Munich had another great unbeaten run in the early 2000s, going 19 games without facing a defeat from 2001 to 2002. Following the 0-3 defeat against Lyon in the second group stage of the 2000-01 UCL, Bayern remained undefeated after that loss including the penalty shoot-out victory in the Final against Valencia to lift the 2000-01 UCL. 

📅 23rd May 2001. The day we made history 🏆#FCBayern #MiaSanMia #UCL #OnThisDay pic.twitter.com/8Bhf1COOFd

— FC Bayern (@FCBayernEN) May 23, 2020

Bayern extended their unbeaten run in the 2001-02 UCL as well and remained undefeated in both the first and second group stages. Bayern's run came to an end with a 0-2 defeat against Real Madrid in the second leg of the 2001-02 UCL quarter-final. 

The longest unbeaten runs in the European Cup and Champions League history:

1. Manchester City – 26 games (6 Sep 2022 – 6 November 2024)
2. Manchester United – 25 games (19 Sep 2007 – 5 May 2009)
3. Ajax – 20 games (2 Oct 1985 – 20 Mar 1996)
4. Bayern Munich – 19 games (18 Sep 2019 – 17 Mar 2021)
5. Bayern Munich – 19 games (14 Mar 2001 – 2 Apr 2002)
*6. Crvena zvezda – 17 games (7 Sep 1988 – 6 Nov 1991)
7. Barcelona – 16 games (8 Mar 2011 – 3 Apr 2012)
8. Manchester United – 16 games (23 Oct 2001 – 23 Oct 2002)
9. Manchester United – 16 games (4 Mar 1998 – 29 Sep 1999)
10. Real Madrid – 15 games (12 Apr 2016 – 2 May 2017)
11. Barcelona – 15 games (14 Sep 2005 – 27 Sep 2006)
*12. FC Köln – 15 games (26 Sep 1962 – 11 April 1979)

*Starred ones happened in the European Cup era.

Sporting CP manager Ruben Amorim is reportedly set to join Manchester United for a speculated fee of €10M. He surpasses the record of his own transfer to Sporting from Braga as Sporting paid €10M to Braga as a compensation fee. However, United has agreed to trigger the said release clause of €10M to bring the 39-year-old Portuguese to Old Trafford. 

🚨🔴 BREAKING: Manchester United are set to pay €10m exit clause for Rúben Amorim to become new manager, here we go!

Sporting confirm formal communication received from #MUFC for Amorim to be appointed.

Amorim has already said yes to Man Utd proposal and project. pic.twitter.com/v17tR1oqlm

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) October 29, 2024

Here is the list of the managers for whom the biggest transfer fees were paid.

Biggest transfer fees paid for a manager

7. Ruben Amorim | SC Braga to Sporting CP, €10M

Ruben Amorim was a former teammate of Cristiano Ronaldo in the Portuguese national team. Amorim retired from professional football in 2017 but It did not take long for him to bag a managerial job as he took up the hot-seat of Portuguese side Casa Pia AC in 2018. 

Amorim joined another Portuguese outfit, SC Braga in 2019 and he was in charge for only 13 games in Braga. Sporting CP barged in soon to take Ruben away and he was appointed as the manager of Sporting in March 2020. They paid a compensation fee of €10M to bring Ruben in. 

Sporting gave the hot seat to Ruben Amorim and he did not disappoint the club officials at all. Ruben won Sporting their first Liga Portugal title in 19 years in his very first full season in Charge, 2020-21. Amorim also won his second Portuguese league title in 2023-24. 

6. Ruben Amorim | Sporting CP to Manchester United, €10M

With Erik Ten Hag getting sacked after 2 years in charge as Manchester United's head coach, Ruben Amorim has emerged as the best profile to replace the Dutch. Sporting CP has officially confirmed in a statement that United agreed to trigger Amorim's reported release clause of €10M.

Amorim was in charge of Sporting for 228 games in total and he holds an extraordinary record of winning 162 out of them while drawing 33 and losing 33 as well. Amorim made Sporting the Portuguese champions in 2020-21 which was his first full season in charge. He also won the 2020-21 Portugal League Cup with Sporting.

Amorim clinched the Portuguese Super Cup and his third League Cup in 2021-22 and became the Portuguese champions again in 2023-24. Before heading to Old Trafford, Ruben Amorim has already won 5 trophies with the current Portuguese champions. 

5. Brendan Rodgers | Celtic to Leicester, €10.5M

Brendan Rodgers left the Scottish side Celtic FC to surprisingly join Leicester City midway through the 2018-19 season. The former Liverpool boss and his coaching staff joined Leicester City in February 2019 as Leicester paid €10.5M to Celtic as transfer fees which led to massive controversies during that time.

"You traded immortality for mediocrity. Never a Celt. Always a fraud."

Celtic fans had a strong message for Brendan Rodgers after he left the club to join Leicester City 👀 pic.twitter.com/6weLme7L25

— BBC Sport Scotland (@BBCSportScot) February 27, 2019

Rodgers led Leicester to win the 2020-21 FA Cup and 2021 Community Shield before leaving the English side in April 2023. He left the club during a disastrous 2022-23 PL season and Leicester got relegated from the Premier League. 

In July 2023, Rodgers assumed the charge of Celtic head coach again and won them the 2023-24 Scottish Premiership title and 2023-24 Scottish Cup. 

4. Vincent Kompany | Burnley to Bayern  Munich | €12M

Coming off as a total surprise, Vincent Kompany was brought in by Bayern Munich as the successor of Thomas Tuchel after they paid Burnley a sum of €12M in 2024. 

This move was indeed a surprise from Bayern because Kompany's previous season's endeavour with Burnley was a total disaster. Burnley got relegated from the Premier League last season which was Kompany's second season in charge of Burnley. They won only five games in the whole season and finished 19th before eventually getting relegated. 

2017-18: Vincent Kompany captained Manchester City to 100 Premier League points.

2022-23: Vincent Kompany manages Burnley to 100+ Championship points.

Vinny is a Centurion through and through 💪 pic.twitter.com/I2TI0QWKKj

— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) May 8, 2023

However, the 38-year-old Belgian won the EFL Championship with Burnley with 101 points to earn them promotion to the Premier League in the 2022-23 season. 

3. Andre Villas-Boas | Porto to Chelsea | €15M

The current FC Porto President, Andre Villas-Boas arrived in the Premier League to assume the charge of Chelsea gaffer in July 2011. Villas-Boas was a part of Chelsea legend Jose Mourinho's coaching staff, back in 2004 to 2008. 

• Part of Sir Bobby Robson’s coaching staff at 16
• Four trophies at Porto, including the league undefeated
• Youngest coach to win the Europa League
• Three trophies with Zenit
• Successful spells at Shanghai SIPG and Marseille

Happy birthday André Villas-Boas. 🇵🇹🎂 pic.twitter.com/jVaar6FOrl

— Coaches' Voice (@CoachesVoice) October 17, 2024

Only after one year in charge of FC Porto, the Blues welcomed him to Stamford Bridge after paying a hefty fee of €15M but it did not quite pay off. Villas-Boas lasted only 40 matches as Chelsea's manager and was sacked in March 2012. However, assistant manager Robert Di Matteo made Chelsea the European Champions that season as a caretaker manager after the departure of Andre Villas-Boas.

2. Graham Potter | Brighton to Chelsea | €23M

One of the most successful managers in Brighton and Hove Albion's history, Graham Potter moved to Chelsea in September 2022. The West London club paid Brighton a total of €23M to snatch him away, just one month into the 2022-23 season.

The pic of Graham #Potter’s signing with #Chelsea as new manager. Contract until 2027. #transfers #CFC pic.twitter.com/1l6uVOrk0s

— Nicolò Schira (@NicoSchira) September 12, 2022

Potter replaced Thomas Tuchel, the UCL-winning coach for the Blues, but his tenure at Chelsea did not pay off at all as he was sacked in April 2023 despite having a five-year contract. Potter lost 11 matches and won only 12 games for the Blues and was sacked after only 31 games in charge. 

1. Julian Nagelsmann | RB Leipzig to Bayern Munich | €25M

In June 2021, Bayern Munich paid RB Leipzig a total sum of €25 million to acquire the services of Julian Nagelsmann and this is still the world-record fee paid for a manager. The Bavarians appointed Nagelsmann as the successor of former boss Hansi Flick. 

Although the 35-year-old guided Bayern to their tenth consecutive Bundesliga victory, Bayern's 2021-22  Champions League exit after losing to Villareal in the quarter-final made a huge impact on his future. In Nagelsmann's second year in charge, Bayern was struggling in the German league and the Bayern officials finally decided to sack him. The news was made official on 24 March 2023. 

Julian Nagelsmann’s record as Bayern coach:

84 games: 60 W, 14 D, 10 L
71.4% win percentage
1 Bundesliga title
2 German Super Cups
8/8 wins in UCL this season

😳 pic.twitter.com/A7oXZ3TEmA

— B/R Football (@brfootball) March 24, 2023

However, he also won two more trophies with Bayern; the DFB Supercup in 2021 and 2022. Currently, Nagelsmann is the head coach of the German national team.