He doesn’t even have one goal in the seniors, but in Munich they didn’t hesitate to attack him (“one day he will score 40 goals in a season”). 17-year-old Mathis Tal, who starred in Israel this year in the French uniform, stepped into huge shoes. Jacobi is preparing for the future
The several hundred fans who came to Ramat Gan Stadium in the middle of May to watch the French national team under the age of 17, could not have imagined that the captain of France, the unknown striker with the number 9 on his back, would become a few weeks later the player the whole world is talking about.
Mathis Tel, who on April 25th celebrated 17 years of age, will play this season in the uniform of the German champion Bayern Munich and who knows, maybe it really is the heir of Robert Lewandowski. The truth is that it’s quite amazing that Bayern is building on a player whose resume as a professional in the Run uniform amounts to 49 minutes in the French league, another 15 minutes in the Conference League and another 15 minutes in the French Cup. By the way, as a senior player Tal has not yet scored even once.
In the French boys’ team, he actually scored three important goals, all at the RG Stadium. A goal in a 6:1 victory over Poland and another pair in a 4:0 win against Bulgaria. France defeated the Netherlands 1:2 in the final held in Netanya, and Tal was the one who scored the goal trophy and won a first degree in his young career.
Bayern Munich’s scouts were of course in Israel during the European Championship, but the monitoring of Tal has been going on for many months. Julian Nagelsmannthe coach of Bayern, said this week: “He is fast, strong and can play in a variety of positions. I think he can develop into one of the best strikers in the world. I think one day he will score 40 goals in a season. But he is still very young and I will be happy if he finishes The first season with us with 10 goals.”
So yes, at Bayern we are aiming for the future. Mathis Tel is a long-term investment. The contract with him is for five years, and Bayern agreed to pay a lot of money for him. The first reports talked about 30 million euros, an unimaginable amount for a 17-year-old player. But in the last few days it turns out that it is 20 million as a basic payment and another 8.5 million as bonuses for future achievements.
It was also written in the German media that the player and his people paid a certain part of the transfer amount themselves, as Ran initially refused to sell their young diamond, who is under contract until 2024. The French club rejected two initial offers from Bayern and agreed to the sale only when a third, higher offer arrived.
The truth is that the president of RAN Jacques Delanois, the sporting director Sylvain Armand and the coach Bruno Genesio, knew that it would not be fair to prevent Tal from fulfilling a dream and moving to a huge club like Bayern Munich – just as the French club could not have prevented the transfer of Eduardo Cambinga to Real a year ago Madrid for 31 million euros. By the way, Tal was the one who broke Cambaniga’s record, when at the beginning of last season he became the youngest player in the history of Ran.
On August 15, 2021, Tal entered as a substitute in the 85th minute in the away match against Brest (1:1), when he was 16 years and 110 days old. Cambainga was 16 years and 148 days old when he played for the first time in the senior team of Rennes (April 3, 2019 against Nimes).
The one who convinced Mathis Tal to join Bayern was the professional manager Hasan Selimadzic who met with him, his parents and his agent, Ivan La-Mi. Selimadzic explained to them that Shengelsman sees him as an important part of the new project he is building, and that he will receive quite a few minutes during the upcoming season.
And no less important, Slihamdzic promised Tal that he would get Lewandowski’s number 9 shirt. Well, can anyone refuse such an offer? You have to remember that Bayern really like the French players. Even before Tal’s arrival, there are five Frenchmen in the Bavarians’ squad: Lucas Hernandez, Dayo Opamacano, Benjamin Faber, Kingsley Coman and Tangi Nyanzo.
Nyanzo was bought from PSG at the age of 18 and still hasn’t made the breakthrough, but the more interesting example is that of Koeman, whom Bayern bought for 21 million euros when he was 21 years old, after two wasted seasons at Juventus (he left PSG at the age of 18) . Koeman developed into one of Bayern’s best players and among other things was the one who scored the winning goal in the Champions League final two years ago against… PSG.
Mathis Tal was born in Sarcel, one of the immigrant suburbs that surround Paris. After passing through several small clubs, he joined Rann’s prestigious youth department when he was 15 years old. From the first moment he impressed everyone, both with his mature approach to training and his ability to play in a variety of roles. He will be mainly deployed as a right winger but can play in any role in the attacking link and on the wing.
Jose Alcucerthe coach of the French youth team, says of him: “For me, he is the modern striker. He knows how to combine individual abilities with team play. He is fast and often makes the difference. On the field he never gives up and in the dressing room he is a leader, talking to the other players , connects them”.
Bayern lost yesterday 1:0 to Manchester City in their last preparation game for the new season, and on Saturday they will play against Leipzig in the German Supercup. By then – Tal should already be presented as the new number 9 of Bayern Munich. If and when the day comes when Mathis Tal will indeed score 40 goals in a season and there won’t be a single football fan in the world who doesn’t know who he is, we will always remember that he achieved the first title in his career here with us, at the stadium in Netanya.
Mathys Tel posting farewell message to Rennes starf, teammates and fans as he’s set to join Bayern. ????????❤️ #FC Bayern
▫️ Born in 2005, played 79’ as professional with Rennes.
▫️ €20m fixed fee, €8.5m add ons.
▫️ Club statement early next week.
▫️ Contract until June 2027.???????? pic.twitter.com/vMpiuroZho
– Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) July 24, 2022