Stefan Effenberg Makes Bus Driver Jibe over Bayern's €80M Lucas Hernandez Deal

Former Bayern Munich player Steffan Effenberg has criticised the €80 million fee paid by the club for Atletico Madrid defender Lucas Hernandez and joked it could lead to them splashing out a big sum on a bus driver.

Bayern announced in March they had agreed a deal to recruit Hernandez this summer.

Former midfielder Effenberg told T-Online (h/t Goal's Stephen Crawford):

"If we look at the transfer fee paid for Hernandez, we can assume that there is only one winner: Atletico Madrid.

"The sum might seem normal in today's transfer market but it gives me a stomach ache. It's one of the reasons that fans often find it hard to understand what is going on.

"If things continue like this, we'll be paying €5 million for a bus driver in five years!

"I would rather spend €80 million on players who are at the top of their game or offensive or creative players."

The 23-year-old started all seven of France's matches at the 2018 FIFA World Cup as they triumphed in Russia.

Hernandez's Les Bleus' team-mate Benjamin Pavard will also join Bayern this summer from Stuttgart in a €35 million move, but Effenberg is not convinced by the pair:

"[Sporting director] Hasan Salihamidzic always talks about Pavard and Hernandez as the signing of two world champions, but from my point of view, it doesn't matter that they became world champions with France in 2018.

"That doesn't mean they will still be world champions in 10 years."

Bayern are in the process of a squad overhaul amid a season in which they were knocked out of the UEFA Champions League in the round of 16 by Liverpool and find themselves trailing Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga by two points with seven matches remaining.

Both Pavard and Hernandez are centre-backs, but they can also play as a right-back and left-back, respectively, which they do for France.

Scouted Football and Bleacher Report's Sam Tighe believe Hernandez is a good capture for Bayern, despite the large fee:

Football writers Alex Richards and Grace Robertson are less convinced:

Bayern have spent a club-record fee for a defender, so there's a great deal of pressure for him to deliver at the Allianz Arena in the coming years.

He's not going to be contributing much in terms of goals and assists, but as Virgil van Dijk has shown at Liverpool following his £75 million (€87 million) move last year, defenders can still have a significant impact on a team's fortunes.

With their defence taken care of, Bayern might focus their attention on reinforcing their centre-forward options, as they have little cover for Robert Lewandowski, or on potential long-term replacements for Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery out wide.