Vincent Kompany has refuted reports that he was unhappy with Bayern Munich's failure to land one more major signing in the transfer window, saying those claims have "come from nowhere".
Kompany slams reports of transfer unrest at Bayern Munich
Bayern Munich's transfer spending was limited during the window, but Vincent Kompany has shot down suggestions that was an issue for him.
Bayern brought in two breakout stars from this year's World Cup in Morocco's Ismael Saibari and Germany's Nathaniel Brown, but their transfer activity was otherwise limited.
Still, they beat Borussia Dortmund to win the Franz Beckenbauer Supercup before opening their Bundesliga title defence with a 5-1 rout of Stuttgart.
And after falling behind early on to second-tier Osnabruck in the first round of the DFB-Pokal, they recovered for a 4-1 victory on Wednesday with Harry Kane scoring twice.
Ahead of Saturday's trip to Schalke, Kompany was asked about reports of transfer-related unrest and responded: "That's come from nowhere. What we discuss internally stays internal.
"I'm completely surprised that something like that is going around. I never once woke up with that thought.
"I wonder how it came about. Lots of things quickly become a subject without being any truth behind it."
Bayern have been without Jamal Musiala since he collapsed in two separate pre-season games due to seizures, but it is not out of the question that he could feature this weekend and Kompany says the club have been aware of his condition for some time.
"He's had a good and full week of training. He's doing well. We've already said how we'll handle him," Kompany said of Musiala.
"We've been dealing with the situation for longer than the public know. We'll look at him in training today and then make a decision on what is best for Jamal and the team.
"He needs to be able to play and perform properly. He's got no problems there. If it were to then happen again, it's not a big alarm for us anymore."
Schalke were promoted back to the Bundesliga for the 2022-23 last season, winning the 2. Bundesliga title under Miron Muslic, and Kompany expects them to fare well in 2026-27.
"I think the step up from the second division to the first in Germany is more doable than in England, where the differences are much greater, especially financially," he said.
"When you look at Schalke, they're not like a promoted club. They look very stable. It was tough for them at Augsburg, but they had a good pre-season.
"I don't think they'll have many problems this season. We're playing against a Bundesliga club, which is always difficult."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Schalke – Edin Dzeko
Forty-year-old striker Dzeko – who retired from Bosnia-Herzegovina duty earlier this week – could go up against Manuel Neuer, who is only 10 days younger than him.
This would be the first time in Bundesliga history that two players aged 40 or over have featured in the same match.
Bayern Munich – Harry Kane
Kane has scored 98 goals in 95 Bundesliga appearances – the record for the fewest games to reach 100 Bundesliga goals is held by Dieter Muller (129).
Kane is facing Schalke for the first time and has scored against all 20 Bundesliga teams he has faced so far; only Miroslav Klose has played against more different teams in the Bundesliga and scored against all of them (28).
MATCH PREDICTION – BAYERN MUNICH WIN
Bayern have not lost any of their last 25 competitive matches against Schalke (W22 D3) since suffering a 1-0 defeat in the 2010-11 DFB-Pokal semi-final.
Most recently, they have recorded seven straight competitive wins without conceding a goal against Schalke – Bayern have never managed a longer such run against any other club in professional football (also seven against Eintracht Braunschweig between 1984 and 2015).
Schalke are unbeaten in 14 home matches in all competitions (W11 D3), but after stepping up a level, they face a difficult challenge against Kompany's men.
Bayern are unbeaten in their last 26 away Bundesliga matches (W20 D6), with their last such defeat coming against Mainz in mid-December 2024.
They have only had one longer unbeaten away run in the Bundesliga, enjoying a 33-game streak between 2012 and 2014.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Schalke – 10%
Bayern Munich – 76.2%
Draw – 13.8%
