Real or Not, Bayern Munich Don't Need a 'No Transfer Clause' from Pep Guardiola

Over the last day or so, there has been a great deal of reportage on whether Manchester City are legally allowed to sign players from Bayern Munich.

It all began when Bayern winger Douglas Costa, speaking to Brazilian television network Globo Esporte (h/t the Independent), sidestepped the question of whether he would be interested in a move to City. The 25-year-old cited a supposed condition in Pep Guardiola's contract, "a clause that says he cannot sign any players from Bayern."

The Citizens have since responded to deny Costa's allegations, as cited in the aforementioned Independent article, although it's not in their interest to publicly admit to lacking a right every other club in world football has. And it's easy enough to deny, as City have no obligation to pursue Bayern players—which, it should be noted, they haven't this summer.

City would never take the initiative to insert such a clause into Guardiola's contract; it'd needlessly limit their transfer options. And the coach presumably wouldn't demand such a stipulation for similar reasons. It is, however, conceivable Bayern convinced Guardiola to sign an agreement not to sign their players after his departure; this might have come with the trainer's initial signing for the Munich giants.

Whether it's just a coincidence the Citizens haven't been seriously linked with any Bayern players this summer is something that will never be officially confirmed by all parties.

Matthias Schrader/Associated Press

At the same time, it's hardly relevant whether such a condition exists. This is with thanks to Bayern's proactive work to tie down their key players with long-term contracts.

Over the last 12 months, Bayern have managed to convince Thomas Muller, Manuel Neuer, David Alaba, Jerome Boateng and Javi Martinez to sign contract extensions that will last until 2021. Thiago Alcantara also penned an extension valid until 2019, and Xabi Alonso agreed a new deal that will keep him at the Allianz Arena until 2017.

Bayern have also signed some quality players on long-term contracts within the last 12 months, among them Arturo Vidal (contract until 2019), Douglas Costa, Joshua Kimmich (both under contract until 2020), Mats Hummels and Renato Sanches (both 2021).

It's pretty clear longstanding Bayern men Muller, Neuer, Alaba, Boateng and Martinez, as well as newcomers Vidal, Costa and Hummels, are meant to be the backbone of this Bayern team for the long term. And of the players who might be considered just as pivotal, the only one who hasn't extended his contract is Robert Lewandowski, who nonetheless is bound to Bayern until 2019.

Then there are the up-and-comers, such as Kimmich and loanee Kingsley Coman. The latter has only had positive things to say about Bayern despite not yet having been signed on a permanent, long-term contract. In March, the France international told Telefoot (h/t ESPN FC): "I am already at one of the three best clubs in the world, so I would not mind it at all to stay at Bayern my entire career."

With Costa's contract tying him to the Bavarians until he's 30, Kimmich will be only 25 when his deal runs out. He'll have plenty of football left in him and could either be a key player or at least one who will command a high transfer fee if he leaves prior.

Squad planning is one of the great challenges most clubs face, but Bayern do a fantastic job of it. While other clubs dragged their feet, the Bavarians were quick to pounce and sign Sanches and Hummels before Euro 2016. In acting early, the German record champions avoided the possibilities of price inflation and delays in signing their desired targets.

They also sought out and landed commitments from almost all of their best players to stay at the Allianz Arena for the long term, meaning an agreement from Guardiola not to sign their players wasn't even necessary. It helps Bayern have money to spend on wages, but their squad planning truly stands out, even among the few other clubs in their financial bracket.

Bayern have consistently looked ahead to the possibility of rival clubs becoming interested in their players and got their stars to commit to long-term agreements to stay in Munich. It's entirely possible that when Guardiola signed, they foresaw the great likelihood he would be popular among the players and the possibility he might want to draw some of them to his next club when the time came. After all, Guardiola brought one of his former proteges, Thiago, with him from Barcelona to Bayern.

But regardless of whether Bayern considered providing legal framework to prohibit Guardiola from signing their players after his departure, the German giants have a more or less rock-solid defense against their former coach bringing his former players with him to the Etihad Stadium.

It's good foresight in any case and, in all likelihood, will prevent any undesired departures from the Allianz Arena this summer.

@Mr_Bundesliga