Bayern Munich players must adhere to a strict car rule and are at risk of being punished if they do not.
The Bundesliga champions have a long-standing, lucrative partnership with German car giants Audi, who actually own 8.33% of Bayern.
Since 2002, Bayern players have been gifted a company car free of charge but the condition is that they must drive it to the club's Sabener Strasse training headquarters, as well as matches and other club-related activities.The players themselves are able to choose the model and receive their vehicle at an event in Ingolstadt.
This season 12 Bayern stars, including Thomas Muller, Joshua Kimmich and Leroy Sane, went for £120,000 Audi RS e-tron GTs.
New £100 million signing Harry Kane, who has three goals in two games, opted for a black Q8 e-tron worth £58,000 because he needed "a family car".
Kane will add the vehicle to his impressive collection, which includes a Bentley Continental GT Sports Supersports, a Range Rover Autobiography and a Jaguar F-Pace.But Bayern make it compulsory for players to drive specific vehicles to and from training. Audis are preferred but Bentleys, Bugattis and Porches are allowed because they are part of the Volkswagen group.
If they fall foul of the rules, players are punished. In January 2020, players were threatened with a €50,000 fine by then-sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic and Karl-Heinz Rummenigge.
And mere months later, Kingsley Coman broke the rules when he turned up to McLaren 570s Spider. Claiming there was damage to his Audi vehicle, the Frenchman had to apologise and pledged to to sign autographs for employees at the Audi plant in Ingolstadt."I would like to apologise to the club and Audi for not driving to training with a company car," he told Bild.
"My Audi had a damage on one of the outside rear-view mirrors. Regardless, it was a mistake and I recognise it.
"To make amends for my mistake I will visit the Audi plant in Ingolstadt as soon as it's possible again and sign autographs and hand goodies to the employees.
Coman repeated his breach though and risked a fine for a second time when he had to park his Mercedes on the street after being refused entry into the training ground by staff in March 2021.
Audi's link with Bayern lasts until 2029 and is said to be worth £42.8 million a year.
Access our platform effortlessly on-the-go through our user-friendly mobile apps.
𝗦𝗲𝗺𝗮𝘀𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗶𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝘁, 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴. We’re more than just a social platform — from jobs and blogs to events and daily chats, we bring people and ideas together in one simple, meaningful space.
