Bayern Munich legend Karl-Heinz Rummenigge calls for player agent reform

Karl-Heinz Rummenigge has added his voice to the growing chorus of concern over the unchecked power of player agents, urging football’s governing bodies to broker sweeping reforms before the sport’s finances spiral further out of control.

Speaking in a recent interview with the World Football Association (via Abendzeitung), the former Bayern Munich CEO echoed the warnings issued last month by ex-club president Uli Hoeneß, who lambasted agents for wielding disproportionate influence over transfers, contract negotiations and the broader relationship between players and clubs.

“We need reforms because it cannot go on to this extent — the way things are developing financially,” Rummenigge said. “It makes no sense to instigate any things and say: We have to abolish the consultants. That’s a nonsense story for me. It cannot be abolished. They are part of this business. We are becoming more and more dependent on consultants – and the influence on players is now enormous.”

Rummenigge stopped short of advocating for an outright ban on intermediaries, arguing instead for a structured dialogue involving FIFA, UEFA, domestic leagues, clubs and agents themselves. “Sit down at the table and talk to each other openly, honestly, but also correctly,” he urged, describing the current landscape as a gray area rather than a simple case of right versus wrong.

The 68-year-old’s intervention comes as transfer fees continue to shatter records once considered unthinkable. Neymar’s €222 million switch from Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain in the summer of 2017 was widely viewed as an outlier at the time; seven years on, such sums no longer provoke widespread disbelief. The influx of cash has enriched clubs, players and, critically, their representatives, creating what Rummenigge sees as an unhealthy dependency on external advisors.

Germany’s 50+1 ownership model, which safeguards member control of clubs, was held up by Rummenigge as a bulwark against the kind of speculative investment seen elsewhere in Europe, where sovereign wealth funds, oligarchs and trading tycoons have acquired marquee teams. Yet even within the Bundesliga’s comparatively sheltered environment, the agent’s role has expanded to the point where, Rummenigge insists, reform is unavoidable.

Whether FIFA and UEFA will heed the call for formal negotiations remains to be seen, but with a figure of Rummenigge’s stature steering the debate, the prospect of regulatory change has moved firmly onto the agenda.