Bayern Munich Pressured Kingsley Coman to Leave via WhatsApp

The use of instant messaging for high-stakes corporate and professional communication has reached a new level of informality in professional sports, as evidenced by the recent disclosure regarding FC Bayern Munich’s handling of player transfers.

According to reporting from Bild, the German club utilized WhatsApp to communicate a directive to winger Kingsley Coman, urging him to seek a new club. This shift toward using encrypted messaging platforms for significant employment and contractual directives highlights a growing trend in the intersection of professional management and consumer communication technology.

Digital Directives in Player Management

On July 30, 2025, Coman received a WhatsApp message from the club’s sporting management. The communication urged the French international to reconsider a move to Saudi Arabia. This method of delivery represents a departure from traditional professional norms, where such directives are typically handled through formal meetings or official legal correspondence between the club, the player, and their representatives.

The use of WhatsApp in this context suggests a preference for speed and directness over formal documentation, even when the subject matter involves multi-million euro assets and complex employment contracts.

Financial Drivers and Strategic Timing

The digital directive was part of a broader financial strategy by FC Bayern to manage its wage bill and recoup investment. The club had recently signed Colombian winger Luis Diaz from Liverpool FC for €70 million. By pushing Coman to leave a year before his contract expired, the club aimed to reduce high salary costs and offset the expenditure associated with the Diaz acquisition.

The efforts to move Coman to the Saudi Pro League were not limited to the July message. Sporting director Max Eberl had previously attempted to persuade the player to join the league in January 2025, though those initial efforts were unsuccessful.

Negotiation and Outcome

Following the communications, Coman officially moved to Al-Nassr on August 15, 2025. The transfer initially generated €25 million for FC Bayern. However, internal friction arose regarding the valuation of the deal, with reports indicating that Max Eberl faced internal criticism for settling on that figure too quickly.

Board chairman Jan-Christian Dreesen subsequently intervened to reopen negotiations with the Saudi side, successfully extracting an additional €5 million, bringing the total transfer fee to €30 million.

Coman, who spent a decade at the club and won 20 trophies, later addressed the nature of his departure in a statement to L’Equipe.

Towards the end of the transfer window, some issues emerged that complicated the situation—details I’ll omit here. I wasn’t pushed out, but I was told the club would let me leave for financial reasons.

Kingsley Coman via L’Equipe

The incident underscores the evolving role of mobile communication platforms in the professional sphere, where the line between personal messaging and official corporate instruction continues to blur.