Bayern Munich boss opts for ‘another slice of apple’ over signing Tottenham star
The honorary president of Bayern Munich, Uli Hoeneß, revealed that they turned down the opportunity to sign Tottenham star Xavi Simons.
Simons got a shoutout after De Zerbi’s vote of confidence
Roberto De Zerbi challenged Simons to be the difference in the club’s bid to avoid relegation, and the Dutchman responded with a shout during Saturday’s draw with Brighton.
It’s been a difficult campaign for Xavi after he struggled to earn the trust of Thomas Frank before being quickly dumped by Igor Tudor during a disastrous seven-game run, but the 22-year-old is one of De Zerbi’s most suitable and talented players.
Figures of five goals and six assists in 40 games are still below average, but Xavi produced a man-of-the-match display against Atletico Madrid and stunned fans with a stunning finish against the Seagulls.
De Zerbi said: “Xavi has a great personality on the pitch and I want him to play with his personality.
“I don’t want to change anything about my players, especially in this part. Character, personality and I think he can be important for us at this time. I don’t know if it’s 30 or 20 minutes, but I have this idea about him.”
|
Tottenham’s most expensive players of all time |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
|
The player |
Money |
Signed from |
A year |
|
Dominic Solanke |
£65m |
Bournemouth |
2024 |
|
Tanguy Ndombele |
£62.8m |
Lyon |
2019 |
|
Richarlison |
£60m |
Everton |
2022 |
|
Mohammed Kudus |
£55m |
West Ham |
2025 |
|
Xavi Simons |
£52m |
RB Leipzig |
2025 |
|
Brennan Johnson |
£47.5m |
Nottingham Forest |
2023 |
|
Micky van de Ven |
£43m |
Wolfsburg |
2023 |
|
Cristian Romero |
£42.5m |
Atalanta |
2021 |
|
Davinson Sanchez |
£42m |
Ajax |
2017 |
|
Archie Grey |
£40m |
Leeds United |
2024 |
Pushing on what Xavi needs to do to become a top player in the Premier League, De Zerbi explained: “He has to score goals, make assists and run off the ball. Stop. That’s enough.
“I talk to him many times, I was a player and I play in that place, I know before he talks to me that he can feel what he needs like confidence.
“I know he can make mistakes but at the moment we need quality from him.”
Bayern Munich rejected Xavi’s offer to get another pie
Hoeneß told a podcast (via Sport Witness) in Germany this week that Bayern manager Vincent Kompany wanted to sign Simons last summer before Tottenham.
The Belgian pleaded with the club’s ownership, saying ‘we need Xavi’ repeatedly, but was quickly dismissed according to Hoeneß.
“I had ordered an apple pie, but it was already on the table, and I said, ‘Vince, you can have another piece of apple pie, but you can’t have Xavi.“
A member of the Bayern board says the Belgian was told to instead focus on using the young players already at the club, and he has done so, with the likes of Lennart Karl, Michael Olise and Jamal Musiala leading the Bavarians to four Champions League finals.
Spurs ended up shelling out £52m for the player, and as he has so far failed to impress under two different managers, Bayern’s quick dismissal shows the Lilywhites’ board jumped the gun and paid dearly.
Tottenham have reached an ‘agreement in principle’ for the signing as Aston Villa face transfer woes
Spurs are ahead of Unai Emery’s side in this race.
For Simons, he may be left wondering what would have been if Hoeneß hadn’t loved apple pie so much, but now he has a chance to trace Saturday’s magic and prove his doubters wrong.
