Assessing Whether Bayern Munich Should Give in to David Alaba’s Wage Demands

Uli Hoeness has never been short of an emphatic opinion or two.

But when Bayern Munich's honorary president - shortly after supposedly stepping down from active service - labelled David Alaba's agent a 'money-greedy piranha' on live German television in September, the former World Cup winner outdid himself.

Go on Uli, tell us what you really think.

This outburst came after the latest round of fruitless contract negotiations with Alaba. The Austria international, having played an instrumental role in Bayern's treble-winning campaign last season, is in the final year of a deal which was last extended in 2016.

Alaba's representatives - which include his father and the aforementioned (omnivorous) agent Pini Zahavi - are angling for a salary in the region of £400,000-per-week according to The Athletic. Bayern's offer is a weekly wage of just under £290,000.

Not content with his tropical fish barb, Hoeness claimed that Alaba's demands would put him above the club's current highest earners; Robert Lewandowski (a fellow Zahavi client) and captain Manuel Neuer.

While the Austrian's camp has publicly denied the suggestion Alaba is trying to become the out-right top-earner, it's clear that the proposed wage-hike will rank him as one of the club's best-paid and therefore most important players.

So, should Bayern succumb to his demands or will they be bitten by his departure?

Pros

Bayern Munich enjoyed remarkable success on the way to a European treble last season, but any silverware seemed faintly ridiculous after they were dismantled in a 5-1 defeat to Eintracht Frankfurt in November. Incidentally, that was the first match of the season Alaba was moved from his normal left-back position to the centre of defence.

Among the innumerable changes Hansi Flick made after replacing Niko Kovac, keeping Alaba as a centre-back was one of his most pivotal non-decisions. From this new role, Alaba emerged as one of, if not, the best progressive passers in Europe. Averaging more than ten passes into the final third each game, no player in Europe's top five leagues could boast a greater number of these penetrative plays last season.

While Jérôme Boateng and Niklas Süle - fellow Bayern centre-backs - also excel at moving the ball through the thirds, they pale in comparison to Alaba's noteworthy numbers. Alaba would also comfortably outstrip any of Bayern's centre-backs in a race. This speed acts as a crucial safety net if Bayern's aggressively high line is penetrated.

The behind-closed-doors setting of the post-lockdown Bundesliga offered viewers a novel insight into the talkers on the pitch. Alaba surprisingly emerged as one of the most vocal Bayern players with the majority of his commentary aimed at Alphonso Davies.

The teenage sensation lit up the Bundesliga and Champions League with buccaneering performances from Bayern's left-back slot thanks in no small part to the perennial dialogue from the adjacent Alaba, a player more than familiar with the role.

Cons

While his status as one of the continent's best ball-playing centre-backs is not in question, Alaba doesn't particularly excel at some of the more defensive duties his new position demands. The 5'10 Austrian is an almost non-existent quantity in the air. On the few occasions he attempts any duels off the ground, Alaba invariably loses out.

While his tackle and interception figures - even adjusted for possession - also leave something to be desired, assessing a centre-back on statistics alone is a minefield.

That Alaba possesses almost a decade of experience in Bayern's first team aged just 28 is remarkable, yet, their number 27 may very well have hit his peak either last season or in the coming campaign before he turns 29 in June.

At this exact point in time Alaba is worth every penny but for how many of the years his new contract would cover will he still be playing at this career-best standard?

Essentially, it comes down to whether Alaba is as important to Bayern as the club's highest-earners, Lewandowski and Neuer.

Billy Beane, the former general manager of the Oakland Athletics and the subject of Michael Lewis' book Moneyball, explained how a deal involving vast sums of money can still be a valuable deal, telling the Liverpool Echo: “Some business decisions - or sporting decisions - cost a lot, but they are worth far more than you put into them. For example: Michael Jordan. Whatever he was paid by the Chicago Bulls, he was worth exponentially more.”

Lewandowski, the club's talismanic, unrelenting goalscorer and Neuer - the goalkeeping captain back to his best - certainly fall into this Jordan bracket.

But so does Alaba. Given his unparalleled incisive passing, speed in transition and command of the backline, he complements the more physically imposing Boateng or Süle perfectly.

The latest update on negotiations indicates that Alaba's representative 'assume' Bayern will eventually yield. Yet, given the financial strain imposed by the coronavirus crisis, the Bavarian giants - even if they do value Alaba as high as his demands - may not be economically capable of meeting them.