2024-09-19 12:46:33
Leon Goretzka and his situation at FC Bayern. A topic that has been much more present for weeks now than the club’s sporting successes.
FC Bayern wins game after game. On Tuesday they were particularly impressive with a 9:2 win in the Champions League against Zagreb. But Bayern can do whatever they want, in the end the only thing that is talked about is Leon Goretzka. In almost every interview, the first question is about the midfield star. The club is to blame for this. The club has not only damaged itself with its behavior over the past year and a half, but also Leon Goretzka.
Two summers in a row, Bayern have given Leon Goretzka the green light to be sold. In 2023, it was former coach Thomas Tuchel who wanted to sacrifice Goretzka in order to sign a new player in midfield. Goretzka responded in a sporting manner, prevailed and ended up making 42 competitive appearances (six goals, eleven assists). This summer, the undignified game was repeated – Goretzka was to be taken off the payroll, the club declared him a candidate for sale. He is to earn almost 18 million euros a year.
Coach Vincent Kompany and sporting director Max Eberl informed Goretzka, who is still under contract until 2026, early in the preseason that they were no longer planning to use him.
And what did the 29-year-old do? Nothing. He let others do the talking and concentrated on his job. His teammates in particular often spoke up, explaining how important Goretzka was for the team and how they needed him. It sounded like a message to the bosses: leave Goretzka where he is – at FC Bayern. And the fans also celebrated the national player.
Kompany tried to play down the matter and not to open up any more problems. “He is important for us,” he said after the match against Zagreb, after Goretzka had even scored a goal after being substituted. However, he left him out of the squad for the cup match against Ulm and the league match against Kiel. “If it’s not Leon, it’s someone else,” the Belgian said succinctly.
This back and forth in the case of Leon Goretzka is new at FC Bayern. In the past, the club was known for putting itself before its players and discussing personnel matters in the background. They were unable to do that with Goretzka. That could be a major disadvantage, especially in negotiations with new players, who will have heard the discussions that have taken place in Munich recently.
And then there is Goretzka himself. He is in top form in terms of sport, but is currently out of the running at Bayern. In the past few weeks he has probably asked himself time and again whether it would not have been wiser to change clubs. The daily reports about him are not helping his market value. In terms of sport, things are not getting any easier either; a return to the national team, for example, seems completely out of the question at the moment.
Bayern now need to calm down the Leon Goretzka issue as quickly as possible. In addition, not only fans but also teammates would be happy if the club returned to its old DNA: “Mia san mia” – which also stands for the solidarity of the German record champions.