Newcastle's most expensive 'blockbuster' deal in history criticized as 'stupid'

Former Bayern Munich President Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said Newcastle were "stupid" to spend 85 million euros to recruit Nick Woltemade.

Woltemade is the most expensive rookie in Newcastle's history.

Bayern pursued Woltemade aggressively in the summer of 2025 and sent an offer of up to 60 million euros but was rejected. Stuttgart firmly held on to the price of 75 million euros. At the end of the summer, Newcastle unexpectedly intervened, paying up to 85 million euros and Stuttgart immediately agreed.

Former player Rummenigge said sourly: "I can only congratulate Stuttgart for finding, frankly, a fool, willing to pay that amount of money. Bayern certainly won't do that. We've reached a limit that I think is unacceptable."

The Bayern legend, now a member of the club's supervisory board, has criticised players and agents for contributing to the inflated market. "The money has to come from somewhere, and this could lead to expansion or the creation of new leagues. We need to be careful," he said.

Rummenigge also mentioned Bayern's failure in the Florian Wirtz deal, when Liverpool agreed to spend 125 million euros to win the Leverkusen star. Previously, the "Gray Tigers" offered 100 million euros but were rejected.

According to Rummenigge, this is proof of the distortion of the transfer market when clubs are backed by billionaires or governments . He called on UEFA to tighten the Financial Fair Play Law, lowering the spending ceiling from 70% of revenue to 60%, or even 55%.

"Football cannot be the only industry that is always losing money," Bayern's veteran leader stressed, warning that without timely measures, the Bundesliga will continue to be at a disadvantage in the upcoming transfer windows.

Source: https://znews.vn/thuong-vu-bom-tan-dat-nhat-lich-su-newcastle-bi-che-ngu-ngoc-post1589599.html