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August 26 – Four former Bayern Munich players, including World Cup winners Thomas Müller, Mats Hummels and Lucas Hernandez, have joined an international consortium that has acquired a 90% stake in Portuguese top-flight club Estrela da Amadora. Müller, Hummels and Hernandez are joined by former Bayern and Switzerland goalkeeper Yann Sommer in the investment group, led by ADvantage and LEAD with backing from the KI Group. The acquisition values the deal at around €40 million, according to media reports, although Estrela did not disclose a price in its announcement. The Bayern connection goes deeper than four familiar names on the shareholder list. Johannes Mösmang has been installed as president of Estrela’s football company, CFEA, replacing Paulo Lopo. Mösmang spent a decade at Bayern working in its professional players department, where he worked closely with senior management, coaches and players. All four of the consortium’s headline football investors passed through Bayern during that period. There is already another Bavarian link on the pitch. Croatian midfielder Lovro Zvonarek joined Estrela this summer on a three-year deal after previously being contracted to Bayern, where he made a handful of senior appearances before spending time on loan at Sturm Graz and Grasshoppers. The new ownership wants to develop young players while establishing Estrela as a regular top-eight side in Portugal, an ambitious jump for a club that has spent its recent seasons fighting at the other end of the table. Estrela returned to the Primeira Liga in 2023 following a rebuild, after the original Estrela da Amadora was declared insolvent in 2011. The current club emerged following a 2020 merger involving Club Sintra Football and subsequently climbed through the divisions, finishing 15th in Portugal’s 18-team top flight last season and surviving on their head-to-head record against Casa Pia. The club briefly returned to the international spotlight in 2024 when former Manchester United winger Nani, who was born in Amadora, returned to play for his hometown side before retiring later that year. Estrela’s rise has also produced a financial return for its previous ownership. Lopo reportedly acquired the club for €72,000 in 2020 before overseeing its climb back into the Primeira Liga and now selling control as part of a transaction worth around €40 million. Contact the writer of this story, Harry Ewing, at [email protected]