Bayern 'difficult to manage' with 44 players like Chelsea, says Max Eberl

Matthijs de Ligt's career is still not going as well as expected. He captained Ajax to the Champions League semi-finals, showcasing him to the world as the great centre-back of this generation. Five years on, that statement is rather misplaced. He is still a top player with potential, but he is on his fourth club after spells at Juventus and Bayern.

In Munich, he was no longer the first choice, even more so after the signing of Eric Dier in the winter, and the German giants saw him as a great option to put money in the till. So they did, mid-month announcing the sale of De Ligt to Manchester United for €45 million.

Now, with a calmer outlook, Bayern are taking stock of the deal. Sporting director Max Eberl spoke at a press conference on Saturday and defended the Dutchman's departure in the face of questions from journalists.

"You can go through the season like Chelsea with 44 players, but that becomes difficult for the coach to manage. Then you have to steal jersey numbers, but we don't do that at FC Bayern," he began. 

"We have to make decisions where we feel we can have the greatest possible success. We made decisions together with Vincent Kompany. Matthijs de Ligt has delivered very consistent performances. We wanted an additional left-footer, which is why we brought in Hiroki Ito.

"That's squad planning, then we spend money, then you as a club have to earn money too. We spoke to the players very transparently and then made decisions and that's how we got the squad we have now," Eberl concluded.