Bayer Leverkusen's current sporting director Simon Rolfes was very close to joining Bayern Munich back in the day. This was revealed by former football agent Lars-Wilhelm Baumgarten. According to the agent, negotiations reached the final stage and Rolfes was almost ready to move to Munich, reports Goal.com .
Then-Bayern head coach Jupp Heynckes saw the central midfielder as one of the key figures for his team and pushed hard for the transfer to happen. However, due to an unexpected decision, the deal ultimately fell through.
Baumgarten noted that for Simon Rolfes, emotional attachment and sporting principles outweighed the attractive financial offer from the German record champions. The player felt very happy in Leverkusen and did not want to give up the team captaincy.
Rolfes defended the colors of Bayer for ten years until he ended his career in 2015 and subsequently started working in the club's management. He has been serving as sporting director since 2022.
Interestingly, in a match held at the Allianz Arena last September, a conflict arose between Rolfes and Bayern goalkeeper Sven Ulreich. At that time, the Munich goalkeeper used insulting words directed at the opposing director.
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