8 players who represented Bayern and Inter | OneFootball

8 players who represented Bayern Munich and Inter Milan

European giants Bayern Munich and Inter Milan meet in the return leg of the 2024/25 UEFA Champions League quarter-finals on Wednesday - a good excuse to shed light on some top players who have turned out for both clubs.

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Bayern Munich have won 33 Bundesliga titles, been crowned the best in Europe six times and won multiple other titles including the FIFA Club World Cup, the UEFA Cup and the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup. Inter have lifted the Serie A title 20 times, been European champions on three occasions and won the old UEFA Cup three times.

It's fair to say, then, that Bayern and Inter are European royalty. But that's not all they have in common. Here are eight of the best players to have featured for both clubs…

1) Karl-Heinz Rummenigge

A success on and off the pitch in Munich, former Bayern CEO Rummenigge also played for Inter between 1984 and 1987. One of the best players of his generation, the quick and versatile attacker twice won the European Cup, the Bundesliga and the DFB Cup during his decade at Bayern. He also finished as the top scorer in Germany three times, was named European Footballer of the Year in 1980 and 1981 and won UEFA Euro 1980 with West Germany.

Lucio (r.) and his Inter Milan team got the better of Thomas Müller (l.) and Bayern in the 2010 Champions League final. (Imago)

After scoring 162 goals in 310 league games for Bayern, Rummenigge made a big-money move to Italy shortly before his 29th birthday. He managed 42 goals in 107 games with Inter but his time in Milan - during which he became a runner-up at the 1986 FIFA World Cup - was hindered by injury. He didn't win a trophy in Italy and finished his playing career with Swiss side Servette.

The former West Germany captain then returned to Bayern as vice-president in 1991, and the club won 14 Bundesliga titles - among a host of other trophies - after he was made CEO in 2002.

2) Lothar Matthäus

Matthäus is another German icon who enjoyed two successful spells at Bayern - although in his case both were as a player. The dynamic central midfielder joined from Borussia Mönchengladbach in 1984, winning three league titles and one DFB Cup before Inter bought both him and Bayern teammate Andreas Brehme in July 1988.

Working under future Bayern boss Giovanni Trapattoni, they become Italian champions in 1989. A year later they were crowned world champions in Italy too - with Matthäus scoring four goals along the way and captaining the side to glory a few months before Germany's reunification.

Former Inter Milan attacker helped Bayern win the Champions League (and everything else) in 2019/20. (Imago)

Matthäus took the inaugural FIFA World Player of the Year Prize in 1991, scoring 23 goals in all competitions for Inter in 1990/91. One of them came from the penalty spot in the first leg of the Nerrazurri's UEFA Cup final triumph over Roma.

The man who would finish with 150 caps for his country returned to Bayern in 1992. He showed impressive determination and staying power thereafter by battling back from serious injuries and reinventing himself as a sweeper. In 1999 - at the age of 38 - Matthäus was named German Footballer of the Year for a second time.

His second stint at Bayern - which ended in 2000 - yielded four more Bundesliga titles, two DFB Cups and the 1995/96 UEFA Cup. In total he got 100 goals in 410 appearances for Bayern, as well as 53 in 154 games for Inter.

3) Jürgen Klinsmann

Klinsmann first made his name at VfB Stuttgart - a brilliant overhead kick against Bayern helping him to become Bundesliga top scorer in 1987/88 - before joining Matthäus and left-back Brehme at Inter in 1989. He hit 13 league goals in his first season in Italy before scoring three times on the way to winning the 1990 World Cup. Along with his two Germany teammates, Klinsmann started both legs of the 1991 UEFA Cup decider as Inter edged Roma 2-1 on aggregate. The striker finished with 40 goals in 123 games for Inter.

Watch: Look back at Klinsmann's playing career