Bundesliga Shuns Superstars In Deals

[Folami David]

The top stars of world football have yet to feature on the shopping lists of Bundesliga teams this summer as the league gears up for the start of the season on Friday.
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Champions League finalists Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund have not competed for this summer's big-name signings, but have nevertheless invested strongly in what is expected to be another title battle between the league's two strongest sides.
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Despite the Bundesliga's success in having Bayern and Dortmund in the Champions League final at Wembley in May, the big names this summer have all gone elsewhere, be it Radamel Falcao to AS Monaco, Edinson Cavani to Paris St German, David Villa to Atletico Madrid or Neymar to Barcelona.
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The most spectacular Bundesliga newcomer is, in fact, a coach, with former Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola taking over at champions Bayern.
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That's not to say that there have been no interesting activity on the transfer market. One of Guardiola's first steps was to seal the signing of Barcelona's 22- year-old midfield talent Thiago Alcantara for 20 million euros (26.5 million dollars).
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Bayern had already invested 37 million euros in signing Germany midfielder Mario Goetze from Borussia Dortmund - a record fee for a German player.
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"We won't be making any more signings. We have the squad now where we want it," chairman Karl- Heinz Rummenigge told Kicker sports magazine.
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"Next to Thiago we wanted Goetze because we see him as the biggest talent of his age in German and European football."
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Bayern have meanwhile parted with striker Mario Gomez for 20 million to Serie A side Fiorentina, while midfielder Anatoliy Tymoshchuk has left on a free transfer to Zenit St Petersburg.
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Last season's runners-up Dortmund, beaten by Bayern in the Champions League final, have compensated for the loss of Goetze by making three major signings.
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Armenia midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan from Shakhtar Donetsk for 25 million euros, Gabon striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang from St Etienne for 13 million, and Greece defender Sokratis Papastathopolous from Werder Bremen for 9.5 have joined coach Juergen Klopp at Dortmund, who have also retained Poland striker Robert Lewandowski despite Bayern's overtures.
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"Dortmund have signed some great players which show that the Bundesliga is an attraction in Europe," German Football League chief operating officer Andreas Rettig said.
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With still more than three weeks until the transfer window closes, clubs have invested more than 200 million euros in new players while taking in some 164 million euros.

[Shola Sholaz]

Bundesliga is definately gonna get tougher next season because so many teams would want to prove a point....I support Dortmund in Germany tho