At Bayern Munich, there is still disagreement over the decision to permit Ryan Gravenberch to join Liverpool on the final day of the transfer window.
Torsten Frings, a former midfielder for Germany and Bayern Munich, is upset with his old team for allowing Ryan Gravenberch to leave for Liverpool.
After receiving £20 million from his old club Ajax in 2022, the 21-year-old had a challenging year in Bavaria. Opportunities were lacking initially under Julian Nagelsmann, and following his dismissal, Thomas Tuchel experienced the same problem.
By the time Gravenberch ultimately completed his £40 million transfer to Liverpool only hours before the deadline on September 1, he had made 34 appearances in Germany, 27 of which were as a replacement, totaling 946 minutes, or an average of 27 minutes per appearance.
He has been adjusting to Jurgen Klopp’s system and the Premier League since moving to Merseyside, making two substitute appearances in the top division and helping Luis Diaz in his maiden Reds start in the Europa League.
A player with such a high ceiling leaving Bayern Munich after just one season at the club did seem like an odd business decision. Gravenberch did not suit Tuchel’s requirements for an outright defensive midfielder, who was believed to be looking for a more natural box-to-box option.
The decision was explained at the time by the former Chelsea manager, who said: “The main issue for him is that, in our 4-2-3-1 system, we don’t really play with a [number] eight. We have a ton of options up front with players who have a lot of experience.
“Ryan is a really pleasant, dedicated, hard-working player. He didn’t like the way things were going. at a 4-3-3, he sees the opportunity to compete for a spot at eight at Liverpool. He had long desired to travel. We talked about an offer that was received.”
The German champions ultimately decided to pursue financial gain, but at what cost? There are already cracks since not everyone concurs with the call.
Speaking to Sport1, Frings, who made 662 club appearances in his career and 79 for the German national team, expressed his displeasure and issued a caution to the club not to commit the same error while handling Mathys Tel, an 18-year-old striker in excellent form.
“Many people find it inexplicable that a young talent for whom they paid a large sum of money transfers to Liverpool – for an amazing sum of money. However, you also need to have some understanding of the coach, according to Frings.
“If a player doesn’t fit into the philosophy, it might make more sense to tell him that and then let him decide whether he tries to assert himself or not looking for the opportunity at another club.”
The summer acquisition for the Reds, Gravenberch, was congratulated by the 46-year-old, who also wished him luck in his future endeavors and informed him he had “found a sensationally good club.”