OFFICIAL: Bayern Munich announce Dayot Upamecano signing

Robin Bairner

• Updated: 19 May 2021 15:43 BST
• 2 min read

Bayern Munich sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic has confirmed the signing of Dayot Upamecano from RB Leipzig will take place in the summer.

France international Upamecano has long been linked with a move away from the Bundesliga side and had attracted the interest of a glut of Premier League sides as well as Bayern.

Chelsea and Liverpool have most recently been linked with the 22-year-old centre-back, who has agreed a five-year contract with Bayern Munich. Manchester United, Tottenham and Arsenal had also been associated him in the more distant past.

Speaking to Bild, the Bayern director was asked if he could confirm the Upamecano deal was completed and replied:  “I can, and we at FC Bayern Munich are very happy about that. We had very good, intensive and professional talks with Dayot and his advisor Volker Struth over many months. We knew that we had very strong competition.

“Upamecano is a young player, 22, whose qualities are already exceptionally developed. I was always convinced that we had presented a good concept. We presented him with our vision of his career at FC Bayern Munich.

“During the past week in Doha, I spoke once again with everyone involved. At the end of a long process, players, family and management were convinced that FC Bayern is the right partner.”

Salihamidzic further confirmed the terms of the deal when asked if Bayern had to meet the France star’s release clause to get the deal over the line.

“That’s correct. Dayot Upamecano will play for FC Bayern Munich for the next five years,” he said.

Although only 22, Upamecano already has a wealth of experience at the top level, having played more than 100 times in the Bundesliga, as well as in the Champions League, where he was a member of the squad that reached the semi-finals last season.

Bayern, meanwhile, need defensive reinforcements given that they are set to lose both David Alaba and Jerome Boateng on free transfers in the summer.

It has been reported that the release clause on Upamecano’s RB Leipzig contract is worth €42.5 million (£37m), which Bayern will pay when the deal is completed.