What is the aim for Kompany, Kane and Bayern?

Vincent Kompany and Harry Kane helped Bayern Munich to the German double last season

Bayern Munich start their latest title defence as overwhelming odds-on favourites to win the Bundesliga again - so what would consistute success this season?

The German side are as short as 1-7 odds with bookmakers after winning 13 of the past 14 titles - and are chasing a hat-trick of successes.

They host Stuttgart on Friday (19:30 BST) in a game you can watch live on BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website.

Vincent Kompany’s side already have a win against rivals Borussia Dortmund under their belt after winning the German Super Cup 2-1 last weekend.

England captain Harry Kane will be looking to win his fourth Bundesliga Golden Boot in four seasons… and perhaps even more.

“The targets at Bayern are always set as high as possible, which means winning the Bundesliga, winning the cup, winning the Champions League and perhaps even winning every single match,” said Kompany this summer.

BBC Sport has a look at what Bayern and Kane can hope for this season - and what is new.

Winning the Bundesliga title is more of an expectation than a cause for huge celebration at the Allianz Arena.

Since 2012 only once have they not been champions - when Bayer Leverkusen went unbeaten all season domestically in 2023-24.

In Kompany’s two seasons at Bayern, since leaving Burnley, they have finished 13 and 16 points clear at the top.

Last season the German double winners were one of Europe’s biggest entertainers, scoring 184 goals in all competitions.

They scored a record 122 goals in the Bundesliga and 43 in the Champions League, where they fell to Paris St-Germain 6-5 on aggregate in the semi-finals.

Since this era of dominance started with the 2012-13 Treble, including the Champions League, they have only won Europe’s top trophy once since then - in 2020.

But German football writer Constantin Eckner says Kompany does “not necessarily” need to win it this season.

“Bayern’s hierarchy have been very happy with him and the progress of the team,” said Eckner.

“As long as they compete among the top four in Europe, they are content to have Kompany. He has brought back a notion of stability to Bayern’s managerial post.

“Before that, it was quite the revolving door policy, as they had seven managers in eight years.

“The Belgian has been a revelation, and the feeling is he could become one of the best managers in the world.

“One could argue he is already among the best, though games like the one at Paris St-Germain have shown that he still has a few things to learn.”

When Kane joined Bayern on a four-year deal in 2022 from Tottenham there was a feeling, certainly in England, that he might return home at the end of that deal.

Kane had never won a trophy during his time at Tottenham, or with England, so the pull of going to a team who win trophies nearly every year was strong.

But many also thought after bagging a few medals he would perhaps try to break the Premier League goalscoring record (sitting 47 behind Alan Shearer).

In fact he admitted as much last week, saying: “When I first left, for sure it was something I thought - I would definitely be coming back. That itch isn’t there as much anymore.”

The 33-year-old has loved his time at Bayern and says he is ready to begin discussions over extending that deal.

That love is very much mutual. Bayern honorary president Uli Hoeness has called Kane “the best signing we’ve ever made”.

This is a club who have had some legendary goalscorers in Gerd Muller, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge and Robert Lewandowski.

Kane scored 61 goals in 51 club matches last season, the most a Bayern player has ever struck in one campaign.

That took his total to 146 goals - plus 33 assists - in 147 games for Bayern. He won the European Shoe in 2024 and 2026 and ‘just’ the regular Bundesliga Golden Boot in 2025.

He also scored all three goals in the German Cup final win over Stuttgart to complete the 2026 double.

“There are many fans who believe he could win the Ballon d’Or,” said Eckner.

“Bayern are lobbying for it [and it is] also a sign towards the much younger Michael Olise that a move to Real Madrid wouldn’t be necessary to win the Ballon d’Or.

“Kane has impressed with his very consistent and relentless goalscoring in the Bundesliga. He has essentially filled the shoes of Robert Lewandowski, who put up similar numbers.

“Bayern rely heavily on Kane. They haven’t signed a real back-up for him, nor a potential replacement. His contract runs out at the end of the season, but Bayern are sure he will extend for a few more years.”

Were Kane to win the Ballon d’Or he would be only the second Englishman to win it since the 1970s and the first since Michael Owen in 2001.

“The Ballon d’Or is as big as it gets, from an individual point of view,” he said.

“It’s not in my hands. I’ve done what I can do in terms of putting in the performances. It’s now down to votes and other people and the media - stuff I can’t control - so we’ll see what happens.”

However last November Kane admitted: “I could score 100 goals this season, but if I don’t win the Champions League or the World Cup, you’re probably not going to win the Ballon d’Or.”

He lost in the semi-final of both competitions.

Another one of Bayern’s irreplaceable players is another Londoner in Olise, who represents France at international level.

The forward has scored 43 goals - including one in this season’s Super Cup - with 46 assists in just over two years at the club.

Bayern have made little changes rather than a squad overhaul this summer, not surprising after two good seasons.

They have recruited Germany left-back Nathaniel Brown from Eintracht Frankfurt for a fee thought to be about £47m.

The 23-year-old can also play on the wing - and even featured in the number 10 role in the Super Cup, where he scored on his debut.

The other big signing is Morocco international Ismael Saibari from PSV for a reported £43m.

Like Brown, the 25-year-old is versatile and can play in midfield or anywhere up front. He scored three times at the World Cup.

The highest profile exits have been Germany midfielder Leon Goretzka, 31, and versatile Portuguese wideman Raphael Guerreiro, 32.

Both have left as free agents at the end of their contracts.

Senegal striker Nicolas Jackson returned to Chelsea at the end of his season-long loan.

Bayern will also have to manage the situation with Jamal Musiala this season.

The 23-year-old attacking midfielder says he is being treated for a “neurological dysfunction” after collapsing during two friendlies this summer.

He added they were “temporary, brief, but easily treatable absence seizures”.

“I’m receiving excellent medical treatment and am very optimistic,” he continued.

“FC Bayern and my family and friends are always by my side and supporting me on this journey.”

What is the Bundesliga's 50+1 ownership rule?

Bundesliga fans benefit from a greater say in how their club is run thanks to the 50+1 rule.

The 50+1 ownership rule allows football fans to hold a controlling interest in German Bundesliga clubs.

This means members are able to hold 50%, plus one more vote, of voting rights, which protects clubs from single investors under current antitrust laws.

Most clubs in the Bundesliga are overseen by parent companies, while their teams are operated by commercial entities which have the primary goal of making a profit through football.

The parent companies still retain controlling votes over the operation.

“What you can do as a club is still sell stakes in those entities,” German football writer Constantin Eckner tells BBC Sport.

“Hertha Berlin sold 78% of shares in their commercial entity to an outside investor. However, the outside investor can’t have the controlling votes.

“So you can sell all of your shares to someone from the outside; they pay a lot of money, and then of course, they get something in return if [the club] are successful and make a profit, but the parent club still have to have 50% plus one in terms of the controlling votes.”

The benefit for fans is that it allows them a greater say in how clubs are run compared to those in England, Spain and France. It also means investors have less control.

Eckner says Bundesliga clubs “aren’t as attractive” to investors because most outside investors “want to buy shares in a football team and run the football or have a significant say in how the football club is run”.

“They don’t, on paper at least, have any say on how the club is run, who’s the coach or who’s the big-money signing this summer,” he explains.

Historically, German teams were traditionally not-for-profit organisations run by members’ associations, and private ownership was introduced in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries.

The rule has helped to manage debts, wage structures and ticket prices.

Ticket prices in Germany are low compared to other major top flights in Europe, with the Bundesliga official website stating that the average price of a matchday ticket last season was £26.26 (€30.77).

Eckner says that the 50+1 rule is “significant” to the identity of the Bundesliga and German football.

He also believes that it is a “selling point” for the league.

“It helps fans and the members of these clubs feel much more heard compared to other countries where they feel as if they are just ticket buyers,” he says.

“Memberships in Germany can apply more pressure on the boards and decision-makers, so that’s why I think it’s a good thing that [the rule] is staying in place as it has been for decades now.”

The Federal Cartel Office, or Bundeskartellamt, is an agency that oversees the obedience of competition laws in Germany.

It confirmed in a report the 50+1 rule complies with German competition and European Union competition laws.

However, it also highlighted some issues around clubs that are currently operating under exception.

Current rules state that investors who are the club’s single biggest financial contributors for over 20 consecutive years can apply for an exemption from the rule.

Bayer Leverkusen, who won their first league title in 2023-24 under now-Chelsea boss Xabi Alonso, have a long-term sponsorship with chemical conglomerate Bayer - but they are an exception to the 50+1 rule because they meet the requirements of an investor substantially supporting a club for at least 20 years.

VfL Wolfsburg were founded and are still owned by the members and employees of Volkswagen, so they also meet the historical grounds exception.

RB Leipzig are Red Bull-owned, and are also an exception, but are “a bit of a different concern” compared to the other clubs mentioned, according to Eckner.

“Leipzig is, on paper, a non-profit club. It’s a younger club, formerly a small club in the suburbs, and right now they restrict membership in a sense,” says Eckner.

“Leipzig have 1100 members, but only a fraction of those members possess voting rights, so they are restricting membership.

“According to the laws for non-profit clubs in Germany, which could also apply to social clubs, for example, you should have open access to membership.

“Restriction of membership can only be due to certain circumstances. Leipzig are an exception right now, because the Bundesliga accepts the practices of the club, but there is concern that they don’t have open membership.”

In Eckner’s view, this “needs to be changed”.

“But it’s also tough on the Bundesliga,” he says, “because the three clubs I just mentioned, especially Leipzig and Leverkusen, are quite powerful and might challenge any decision made by the Bundesliga in court.”

The potential risk of football clubs losing their identity because of multi-club ownership will not be unfamiliar to some Strasbourg fans in France’s Ligue 1, who protested against parent club Chelsea last year.

The 50+1 rule in Germany prevents such a situation by allowing fans a decisive say in the running of their club.

It can be summed up by the word ‘Vereinsdemokratie’, which translates to ‘club democracy’.

It’s a “powerful tool” to shape “how a club is run”, rather than being able to make operative decisions like buying or selling a player, according to sports economist and co-chair of the advisory board of VfB Stuttgart, Prof Andre Buhler, of Nurtingen-Geislingen University.

“VfB Stuttgart once changed the club crest in order to make it more marketable. At the general meeting 2013, 79.9% of the members present voted in favour of returning to the traditional club crest bearing the founding year of 1893,” Prof Buhler tells BBC Sport.

“Furthermore, a change to the club statutes was passed with 92.1% of the vote, protecting the crest so that in the future only the members may decide on any changes.

“That’s club democracy, whereas in investor-led clubs fans have only little if any means to change the club’s decisions.”

Some are concerned that the rule is slowing the growth of German domestic football, and that financial investment is needed to catch up with other major leagues.

The last German team to reach the Champions League final were Borussia Dortmund, who lost to Real Madrid in the 2023-24 season. Before that, Bayern Munich beat Paris St-Germain in the 2020 final.

Last season, Freiburg and Eintracht Frankfurt competed in the Europa League, with the latter losing in the final, but they won the competition in 2022 by beating Rangers.

The German national team were also knocked out of the 2026 World Cup early, losing on penalties in the round of 32 to Paraguay in a game where they had been favourites.

“The rule is preventing very rich investors from actually buying stakes in clubs,” says Eckner.

“They could do it of course, and there has been incidents when there has been investment in sports stakes of clubs.

“It’s possible according to the rule, but it’s less attractive, and why investors would rather go to the Premier League, the Championship or even La Liga to buy clubs there. They usually buy clubs outright by controlling stakes. You can’t buy a controlling stake in a Bundesliga club.”

Bundeskartellamt president Andreas Mundt said in a statement: “The 50+1 rule can continue to be justified on the grounds of preserving the club-based character of the sport and ensuring member participation.

“However, this is contingent upon the rule being applied consistently and without unjustified distinctions.”

The German Football League [DFL] requested the Bundeskartellamt proceedings to legally support the rule against any future antitrust law challenges.

“We are not conducting proceedings to prohibit the 50+1 rule, nor are we initiating any such proceedings. Rather, the DFL approached us with a request for a sound assessment of this complex issue regarding sports antitrust law,” Mundt said.

“Our evaluation outlines the antitrust framework within which, in our view, the 50+1 rule can be applied with the greatest possible legal certainty.”

The DFL reinforced this, stating the 50+1 rule is an “essential component” of German football.

Lennart Sauerwald, a member of a Stuttgart supporter group, also agrees, telling BBC Sport: “I know fans don’t get to decide if their favourite attacker will get sold, or what to do with the money, [but] I think, especially in Germany, you have seen it with the protests against the selling out of the league to investors.

“Fans stopped games. They threw stuff on the pitch, tennis balls. Little cars driving around on the pitch. I think fans are the conscience of football.”

Lennart also runs his own blog, Rund um den Brustring, which he started 10 years ago, and has his own podcast about the club.

“[Fans] are like the little Jiminy Cricket on the shoulder saying no,” he said.

Prof Buhler takes a similar view, saying: “Football without fans is a dead sport. Therefore, they should have a say when it comes to their club.”

Who am I? Guess Bundesliga star No 1

We’re marking top-flight German football being shown live on the BBC every Friday with a Bundesliga edition of our Who am I? game.

Bayern Munich host Stuttgart this Friday (19:30 BST) and you can watch live on BBC iPlayer or on the BBC Sport website and app.

The rules are simple. We want you to guess the Bundesliga footballer in as few attempts as possible.

After each wrong guess you unlock a new clue. The fewer clues you need to get the right answer, the more points you score.

Three is a good score, four or five points is exceptional.

Today’s player and clues set by BBC Sport’s Adam Ellis.

After more quizzes? Go to our dedicated Football Quizzes and Sports Quizzes pages and sign up for notifications to get the latest quizzes sent straight to your device.

£50m Delap joins Forest – will he thrive at the club?

Liam Delap has completed a club record £50m transfer to Nottingham Forest from Chelsea.

The striker has signed a five-year deal at the City Ground after just a year at Stamford Bridge.

“This is a massive club with a big history,” Delap said.

“I spoke to the manager (Oliver Glasner) and I like his way, I think he can be the one to really help me develop and make that next step and hopefully I can bring goals here.

“As a team we can build something really strong and the main aim is to challenge and be a top club in the Premier League.”

In a summer of staggering transfer fees, the move stands out.

An outlay of £50m for a striker who scored one league goal last season – at a £20m profit to Chelsea – has caught the eye.

But Delap is only 23 and has scored goals in the Premier League before.

BBC Sport examines whether a move to Forest can reignite the career of a young player hoping to marry progress with his undoubted potential.

The finest season of Delap’s career to date was undoubtedly his first of regular football at the highest level.

When Ipswich paid an initial £15m for his services from Manchester City in July 2024, it appeared sensible business – a below market value fee for a promising England Under-21 international with the capacity to improve quickly.

The faith of then Ipswich boss Kieran McKenna was repaid in spades when Delap scored 12 goals in his first Premier League campaign in 2024-25 despite operating in a side that would win four games all season and go on to be relegated in 19th place.

Key to his success at Portman Road was a manager who played to Delap’s strengths of power, physicality and ability to carry the ball at pace.

He made 26 shot-ending carries that season – the most of any striker in the Premier League.

A burst of six goals and one assist in the first 12 games of that campaign saw Delap earn widespread acclaim from former players.

On Match of the Day in November 2024, former Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy said: “I would probably go as far as to say he is the obvious long-term successor to [Harry] Kane. I think he is the best young English striker out there.

“I just don’t see a weakness for him. He has scored enough goals in a struggling side really, but if he gets a lot of chances he will score more.

“He has just got that lovely balance between physical and technical [ability] and rarely do you get both. He is a super talent.”

“Can Liam play for the biggest clubs in the country, the biggest clubs in the world? He certainly can. I fully believe that.” The words of McKenna when Delap began to be linked with a raft of top-flight teams towards the end of 2024-25.

The son of former Derby County defender Rory ultimately opted for Stamford Bridge.

The decision to join a congested Chelsea squad as a still-raw talent was met with some scepticism but the attraction of reuniting with then Blues head coach Enzo Maresca may have been a decisive factor.

Maresca was Manchester City’s under-21 boss when Delap enjoyed great success with the club’s academy, scoring 24 goals in 20 matches in 2020-21 as City won the Premier League 2 title.

His move to Chelsea did not work out. It began with Delap’s decision to rule himself out of last summer’s Under-21 European Championship - a tournament that England would go on to win – to make himself available for Chelsea’s Club World Cup campaign.

The former Stoke, Preston and Hull striker then scored just three goals in 47 appearances, a loss of form which resulted in Chelsea giving Delap’s number nine shirt to Joao Pedro before his departure was sanctioned this summer.

Delap’s struggles at Chelsea have been underpinned by three managerial changes and hamstring and shoulder injuries, but also difficulties adjusting to a different gameplan.

Whereas Ipswich used Delap’s speed effectively by counter-attacking into space behind high defensive lines, Chelsea focused more on building possession.

In 2025-26, Chelsea totalled 123 build-up attacks and 613 sequences of 10 passes or more. In 2024-25, Ipswich’s respective numbers were 57 and 247.

As a result, the capacity for Delap to carry the ball at pace into space and shoot – arguably his unique selling point as a player – was dramatically reduced. He made just six shot-ending carries for Chelsea in the Premier League, having amassed 26 for Ipswich and 38 in the previous season with Hull in the Championship.

Shorn of confidence and lacking minutes, Delap was still culpable for failing to take chances last season.

At Ipswich, his shot conversion rate was a career-best 17.7%, scoring 12 goals from an expected goals tally of only 9.3. At Chelsea, his shot conversion rate dropped to just 2.8%, scoring only once in the league from an xG of 4.5.

Confidence aside, part of the puzzle still to be solved with Delap is how best to utilise his impressive strength without his penchant for the physical element of Premier League football becoming counter productive.

Unnecessary tangles with defenders are so often a hallmark of Delap’s do-or-die approach, even when playing his best football.

He competed in 413 duels in 2024-25, ranking him third of all Premier League players aged under 23, but only won 157 of them - suggesting he has the tendency to chase lost causes.

Additionally, he committed the second-most fouls of any player (72) and ranked joint second overall for bookings, matching 12 goals with 12 yellow cards that season.

The overriding positive for Forest fans digesting Delap’s inflated fee – which can be partly explained by Ipswich reportedly receiving 20% of any profit made on their £30m sale to Chelsea last summer – is that manager Oliver Glasner’s man-management and tactical set-up are both likely to suit the new arrival.

Glasner tends to prefer playing without the ball – his Crystal Palace team averaged 46% possession last season – while the Austrian also likes to attack directly at pace, suiting Delap’s natural assets.

Glasner also has recent form for turning around a centre-forward’s career after transforming Jean-Philippe Mateta at Palace.

Mateta improved his shot conversion rate and halved the number of minutes it took to score goals under Glasner, operating in the same type of target-man role that Delap is set to fulfill at Forest.

Delap also remains a valuable commodity in the sense he is one of only 10 English forwards aged 23 or under playing regularly in Europe’s top five leagues.

Once heralded as Kane’s successor, international ambitions may have to wait for the time being.

But Glasner improved Mateta to the point of playing at the World Cup earlier this summer with France.

Significant interest will surround how far he can take Delap.

Arsenal only likely exit for Alvarez as striker skips training

Julian Alvarez has not attended Atletico Madrid training since being told privately the club would not sell him to Barcelona and it appears the striker’s only way out is with a move to Arsenal.

Sources told BBC Sport that Atletico communicated privately to Alvarez and his advisers earlier this week that they will not negotiate with the Catalan club over a move for the Argentina international.

The 26-year-old has since missed two consecutive days of training citing illness.

The La Liga club also released two public statements in the space of 24 hours reiterating their stance that Alvarez will not be granted his wish to join Barca in the coming days.

Atletico, however, are open to selling Alvarez to Arsenal and have held direct talks with the Premier League champions over what would be one of the biggest transfers of the summer.

Atleti director Mateu Alemany was in London last week, where he is understood to have met with Arsenal counterparts - and made clear his side would seek a fee of 150m euros (£128m).

Mikel Arteta is desperate to sign Alvarez this month but his steadfast desire to join Barcelona has seen Arsenal’s pursuit halted.

However, it is understood discussions between Atletico and Arsenal over a club-to-club agreement for Alvarez have been positive.

Indeed, in the event of Alvarez giving Arsenal the green light to proceed with his signing in the coming days, a deal should move quickly.

On Wednesday, in response to comments from Barcelona president Joan Laporte in which he insisted they still wanted to sign Alvarez, Atletico released a statement that read: “There is 0% chance of selling him to Barca.”

The Atletico board doubled down on their stance on Thursday, releasing their own statement that read: “The members of Atletico de Madrid’s board of directors have unanimously expressed their absolute support for the club’s decision to not negotiate the transfer of Julian Alvarez to FC Barcelona.”