Contract saga concludesDayot Upamecano extends with Bayern Munich until 2030

AFP
Dayot Upamecanohad developed into a regular in the French national side by the 2022 World Cup in Qatar
Dayot Upamecanohad developed into a regular in the French national side by the 2022 World Cup in Qatar
© AFP/File

France defender Dayot Upamecano has extended his Bayern Munich contract by four years to 2030, the defending champions announced on Friday.

Upamecano, 27, moved to Munich from RB Leipzig in 2021 and has played 180 games for Bayern, winning three Bundesliga titles.

“I’m really happy to be staying at Bayern and continuing to play in this team. We’ve got a great team and a great coach. We’ve got big goals together,” Upamecano said in a statement.

“I give my all for my teammates, in every training session. I want to keep a clean sheet in every game and I want to win as many titles as possible with Bayern.”

Despite facing heavy criticism early in his Bayern career, as injuries and a lack of confidence affected his form, Upamecano had developed into a regular in the French national side by the 2022 World Cup in Qatar and started for Les Bleus in their final loss to Argentina.

Under Bayern manager Vincent Kompany, a former centre-back who arrived at the club in 2024, Upamecano’s form has soared.

Bayern sporting director Christoph Freund said that Upamecano had “developed into a truly world-class defender and leader here at Bayern”.

“The whole package he brings is hugely valuable for our squad. We’re happy he’s staying with us.”

With Upamecano’s deal set to expire in the summer, the announcement ended a long-running saga over the defender’s future, amid links to Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain and Premier League clubs.

He, and his agent, had negotiated hard over the new deal and German tabloid Bild reported weeks ago that Upamecano had missed a club-imposed deadline to give an answer about his future.

In January in an interview with Kicker magazine, Bayern powerbroker Uli Hoeness criticised Upamecano’s agent for holding out on making a decision and said that he was “appalled by this behaviour”.

Even so, Bayern relented on their position and handed Upamecano both a substantial signing-on bonus and a release clause, which is valid from 2027.

This season, Bayern sit six points clear at the top of the Bundesliga table and have qualified directly for the Champions League last 16.

dwi/bc

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