Should Bayern Munich Sell Injured Star David Alaba?

Bayern Munich utility player David Alaba's career is in the balance after a knee ligament injury, which should raise questions inside Bayern's headquarters: "Do we sell him?"

"Once I've had the operation, I'll start a sports rehab programme as soon as the doctor allows it," Alaba said, per Bayern's official website. "This feels like a bitter blow for me at the moment."

Alaba will wretchedly attempt to recover physically and psychologically for the third time in reaction to his body breaking down to a significant injury.

• November 7, 2014, per Bayern's official website: "Alaba sustained a partial tear of the medial collateral ligament and damage to the medial meniscus ... the 22-year-old successfully underwent surgery on Friday morning."
• July 23, 2012, per FOX News: "Bayern Munich defender David Alaba will undergo surgery on Tuesday to repair a foot fracture."
• September 17, 2010, per Bayern's official website: "David Alaba is also fit again after six weeks on the sidelines with torn ankle ligaments."

It is a fight-or-flight period of time for Alaba, which is a situation all too familiar to former Bayern utility player Owen Hargreaves.

Alex Livesey/Getty Images

A technically astute and versatile Canadian-born-Englishman with a high football IQ, Hargreaves could have been one of the greatest players of his generation.

Unfortunately for him, he was nowhere near as durable as Javier Zanetti.

Jimmy Bullard, an ex-footballer "with no legs", said Hargreaves was "the man with no knees," per Bullard's autobiography.

Hargreaves' legacy is besmirched by legendary Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson.

"[Hargreaves] was one of the most disappointing signings of my career ... he went everywhere in search of cures for his various injuries," Ferguson said, per his autobiography. "I felt he lacked the confidence to overcome his injuries. It went from bad to worse."

Context: Hargreaves was lionhearted in playing through the pain barrier, gritting his teeth while injured and exhausting his energy at Bayern.

His body started betraying him long before Ferguson rolled the dice.

"Bayern are keeping me going with injections," Hargreaves said, per BBC Sport. "They want to get me to surgery ... I may need an operation on my left ankle."

Bayern shrewdly sold Hargreaves, who was damaged goods considering his dodgy ankle, degenerative knees, having undergone groin surgery and suffering a broken leg, to United for €25/£17 million in the 2007 summer transfer window.

The Hargreaves affair left Ferguson red-faced as he disconsolately accepted being outwitted by Bayern—those "typical Germans." 

The blatant, inescapable, "don't sign me!" red flag was there, yet Ferguson imprudently ignored it.

Hargreaves had a plethora of injury-affected streaks keeping him out of three successive Bundesliga games or more, per TransferMarkt:

• April 28, 2007 - May 19, 2007 (four games).
• September 23, 2006 - January 30, 2007 (15 games).
• February 4, 2006 - March 11, 2006 (seven games).
• September 20, 2005 - October 29, 2005 (six games).
• October 18, 2003 - November 9, 2003 (four games).
• April 26, 2003 - May 17, 2003 (four games).
• March 17, 2001 - April 7, 2001 (three games).
• October 14, 2000 - December 13, 2000 (10 games).

Clive Brunskill/Getty Images

Given the Patrik Andersson skulduggery, Ferguson should have been more judicious when dealing with Bayern.

Andersson, a world-class Swedish centre-back who was in the UEFA Team of the Year, was being pushed by Bayern to leave. 

"Andersson earns relatively little money here," then-Bayern commercial manager Uli Hoeness said, per Bild (h/t Reuters via ESPN FC). "It would be almost inhumane to ruin his career."

What a conniving, devious, sly and underhand public relations stunt from Hoeness.

Letting Andersson go had nothing to do with his salary. 

Bayern accurately projected Andersson's longevity, but Barcelona didn't, per UEFA's official website: 

"

FC Barcelona defender Patrik Andersson will be out for a further six to eight weeks after undergoing surgery on his injured thigh.

[...]

[Andersson] has not played a competitive game for Barcelona since he underwent an operation to cure knee ligament damage in February.

He has been plagued by fitness problems since his €7/£5.5 million move from Bayern in [the 2001 summer transfer window].

"

Kerstin Joensson/Associated Press

In the 2013 summer transfer window, Bayern sold German centre-forward Mario Gomez to Fiorentina for €20/£15.7 million.

In two seasons, Gomez has cost Fiorentina €1.5 million per Serie A appearance. 

"It's starting to become a problem having to justify every time Mario does not score," Fiorentina manager Vincenzo Montella said, per Ben Gladwell at ESPN FC. "[Remember] he is like a new signing considering he missed most of last season injured."

Andersson, Hargreaves and Gomez were trojan horses to their first clubs post-Bayern, which filled the Bavarian's coffers to the tune of €52/£40.7 million.

Meticulously forecasting every transfer in and out, Bayern are one of the best run clubs in the history of football (24 German league championships and five European Cup/Champions League titles). 

Nation	Position	Age	Height	Weight
Austria	LB/LWB/CB/DM/CM	22	5'11"	165 lbs

Alaba is energetic, smart, a low risk-tackler and one of the most complete footballers in the world. 

• Can play as a left-sided centre-back in a three-man defence, a left wing-back if asked to move forward, a left-back in a back four, able to do a competent job as a holding midfielder, but has the traits to develop into an elite box-to-box midfielder.
• Completes 89.7 percent of his 76 passes per game.
• Has not received a yellow card in league play since the 2011-12 season.
• At 22 years of age, he is a world-class footballer, who is a Bundesliga and Champions League winner. 

According to Bayern manager Pep Guardiola, Alaba is "a total footballer" who "can play in so many positions," per Deutsche Welle.

The ceiling and floor of Bayern potentially selling Alaba is favourable.

• Ceiling: Formerly of Chelsea, David Luiz barely plays centre-back competently and has been a makeshift central midfielder, yet is valued by Paris Saint-Germain at €49.5/£38.8 million.
• Floor: Regardless of lacking resell value, Barcelona signed Jeremy Mathieu, a seasoned veteran at Valencia who is able to slot in at left-back and centre-back, for €20/£15.7 million.

Before you go Stephen A. Smith at the notion of selling Alaba, understand that Bayern have succeeded due to ruthless pragmatism.

If Alaba's latest setback proves to be debilitating, Bayern need to be proactive rather than reactive, a la United's handling of Hargreaves. 

Andersson, Hargreaves and Gomez are reasons why Bayern should be open to the idea of selling Alaba, who has suffered two ligament injuries in the last four years.

@allanjianga

+allanjiang

When not specified, statistics via WhoScored