Bayern Munich’s withdrawal leaves A-League All-Stars without an opponent

Unless an opponent is found by the end of the week, the A-League All-Stars won’t be in action this year.

Joshua Kimmich’s Bayern Munich have decided against travelling to Australia. Picture: Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images)

Time has all but run out in the search for an opponent for the A-League All-Stars following Bayern Munich’s decision to pull out of its planned trip to Australia.

The German giants and six-time European club champions had been lined up to meet the All-Stars sometime in the week before the June 3 A-League grand final in Sydney.

However, Bayern has cancelled its trip. according German newspaper BILD.

The reason given was that “organisers” could not meet their “financial obligations”, with the report claiming the club had been promised “four to five million euros”, which equates to up to $A8.2 million.

However, Australian Professional League sources have denied that amount of money had been promised.

Matthijs de Ligt and his Bayern Munich teammates will no longer be coming toi Australia. Picture: Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images

But the recent change of government in NSW might have led to less funding for the event.

Other reasons for Bayern’s decision to withdraw its interest in travelling to Australia are understood to have included a busy season for its players, several of who were also involved in the December-January FIFA World Cup,

The APL hasn’t given up hope of striking a deal with another club in the coming days, however if an opponent can’t be found by the end of the week, the All-Stars game is set to be shelved for the year.

In the slim chance an opponent can be locked in, it’s understood that an A-League All-Stars coach – believed to be either Western United’s John Aloisi or Melbourne Victory’s Tony Popovic – has been appointed.

Last year, the Dwight Yorke-coached All-Stars were beaten 3-2 by Spanish giants Barcelona in front of more than 70,000 fans at Accor Stadium.

Originally published as Bayern Munich’s withdrawal leaves A-League All-Stars without an opponent