Bayern Munich were managed by Pep Guardiola when they sold six players in the summer of 2015 – but what became of those players cut loose by the German giants?
Guardiola signed the likes of Douglas Costa and Arturo Vidal to help them win the Champions League, but Bayern were eliminated by Atletico Madrid in the semis despite winning the Bundesliga again.
Bayern parted ways with six players in 2015, and they were, for the most part, the right choice. But where are they now?
Mitchell Weiser
Weiser, signed from Koln, was handed his debut by Juup Heynckes before making a further 20 appearances under Guardiola.
Ultimately though, Weiser was another prospect that did more in the youth ranks and B team than he did for Bayern’s seniors.
Weiser has been a solid Bundesliga pro for the past eight years, following his departure from Bayern in 2015.
He’s represented Hertha Berlin and Bayer Leverkusen and is currently turning out for Werder Bremen, having helped get them promoted back in 2021-22.
Pepe Reina
Unbelievably, Reina is still playing football in 2025. Can’t remember a time he wasn’t playing football. Feels like he could’ve been signed for Liverpool by Gerard Houllier.
The goalkeeper is now at Como having played for Napoli, AC Milan, Aston Villa, Lazio and Villarreal since leaving Bayern.
He’s 43 in August. Remarkable longevity.
Claudio Pizarro
Pizarro enjoyed two successful spells at Bayern Munich, scoring 125 goals in 327 club appearances and left in 2015 for a fourth spell at Werder Bremen.
The Peruvian striker spent a year at Cologne before a fifth spell with Bremen, eventually retiring in 2020.
He is now a club ambassador for Bayern.
Rico Strieder
After making his debut against Bayer Leverkusen in May 2015, Strieder was sold to Utrecht just months later as Guardiola clearly didn’t see a future for him at Bayern.
The midfielder spent the majority of his career in the Netherlands, playing for three clubs before returning to Germany and signing for SV Heimstetten in the nether regions of Bavarian football.
Details about his current whereabouts are scarce, but it would appear Strieder is simply without a club rather than retired from the game at the time of writing.
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Bastian Schweinsteiger
Signed with much excitement in 2015, Schweinsteiger flopped at Manchester United and the Bayern legend has since been critical of the way he was treated in England.
“I was very sad because United was the second club of my heart,” Schweinsteiger told the Overlap when discussing his second season at the club.
“On my birthday, when I walked into (United’s training ground) Carrington, (football director) John Murtough was there and said that I wasn’t allowed to walk into the dressing room – the coach had said so.
“I had to ask him to bring me my cleats and training gear. I asked him who I was training with, and he said there was the under-16 team, so I went and trained with the under-16s.”
Despite only making 18 league appearances during his two years at Old Trafford, the World Cup winner was taking home a whopping weekly wage of £240,000.
He left two years later and played out the rest of his career in the MLS before retiring in 2019. He now does occasional punditry work.
Dante
With Dante at the heart of their defence, Bayern broke records for fewest goals conceded and most clean sheets in a Bundesliga season during their treble-winning campaign of 2012-13.
The Brazilian started the Champions League final victory over Borussia Dortmund and stayed at the club for a further two years before joining Wolfsburg.
Now 41, the centre-back is captain of Ligue 1 side Nice and has made 285 appearances for them since signing in 2016. Not bad.
QUIZ: Guess The Wikipedia Footballer #20: Can you name these Bayern Munich academy graduates?