October 24 – Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, German head of the European Clubs Association, has accused English clubs of taking on players far too young saying he would have “moral reservations” about doing the same thing at Bayern Munich where he is chairman.
Bayern are due to open a new youth academy next summer and Rummenigge was quoted as saying in the club’s magazine: “We don’t want to bring some 10- or 11-year-old to Munich like the English do.”
“You could almost speak of kidnapping with them and I would have moral reservations about that.”
Under FIFA rules, clubs are not allowed to sign overseas players aged under 18 unless the deal meets one of three criteria – a player aged between 16 and 18 moving within the European Union/European Economic Area, a player moving less than 100km across an international border, or the parents moving to the new country for non-football reasons.
“Our priority will certainly be Germany and Bavaria,” said Rummenigge. “Our future talented players will much rather come from Rosenheim than Rio.”
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