Rummenigge calls for transfer window to close on July 31 across Europe

A Europe-wide transfer deadline brought forward to July 31 would bring “sense and rationality back to football”, according to Bayern Munich chief executive officer Karl-Heinz Rummenigge.

The most recent transfer window thrust the issue into sharp focus as even leading clubs such as Barcelona, Liverpool and Borussia Dortmund saw their top stars being unsettled late into pre-season preparations, and indeed once the campaign was underway. 

Paris Saint-Germain spent €222million to lure Neymar from Barca, smashing the world record in the process, while they also completed the loan signing of Kylian Mbappe from Monaco, a deal which will be made permanent next year for €180m.

Barca in turn signed Ousmane Dembele from Dortmund and sought to bring in Liverpool’s Philippe Coutinho.

It all resulted in growing calls across Europe for the window to be closed earlier, something the Premier League has opted to do, bringing its deadline forward to the final Thursday before the new season begins.

Rummenigge wants something similar to be put in place across the continent, though he acknowledged that it may be difficult, as smaller clubs have previously been in opposition to such a move.

“It must come to a uniform solution across the whole of Europe, independently on the start of the season in the individual leagues,” he told FC Bayern Magazine.

“A collective end of the transfer window on July 31st would also contribute to bringing more sense and rationality back to football.

“It would be such a useful solution in the sense that the clubs, all managers and fans knew on the first matchday with which squad their clubs start the new season.

“I want to underline that an earlier end of the transfer window never failed due to the big European clubs, but because of the smaller clubs which wanted to be able to make amendments [to their squads] in the transfer market in order to help cope with a possible failure in Champions League qualification.”