A new twist – Upamecano staying in Munich

It seems that the saga around Dayot Upamecano has finally come to an end. Last night, sometime before the transfer window closed, news broke—somewhat unexpectedly—of a major turnaround: the French center-back will, after all, extend his contract with Bayern. At one point, everything looked lost. Upamecano had fully entrusted the negotiations to his agents, who didn’t know where to draw the line, prompting Max Eberl, under pressure from the club’s supervisory board, to withdraw the lucrative offer.

It was already known that the Bavarians had agreed to a four-year contract worth 80,000,000 euros gross and had even approved a relatively low release clause of 65,000,000, valid from June 2027. About a month ago, the final obstacle to an agreement fell when the supervisory board approved an additional 20,000,000 for managerial compensation and a signing bonus. However, the two sides disagreed on the payment structure of that money. The agents demanded that the money be paid in full immediately, while Bayern insisted it be split into installments over the duration of the contract. The reason is simple—the Germans did not want to risk paying the entire 20,000,000 only for Upamecano to activate his release clause the following June and leave. That would mean they had paid him an incredible 40,000,000 in just one year.

Problem in Munich: Greedy Upamecano

According to German media, both sides were firm in their positions, and it seemed unlikely they would reach an agreement, as reflected in the words of supervisory board chairman Uli Hoeness:

“I would be extremely happy if Dayot decided to stay with us. I know that he and his family are happy here and feel very comfortable in Munich. But I fear that his agents are doing everything they can to drag him to another club. I am appalled by their behavior”. As promised two weeks ago, when he gave Upamecano a deadline to make a decision, the Munich club withdrew its offer late yesterday afternoon. It turned out to be the trigger for everything that followed. Bild reported last night that after Bayern’s widrawal, the player took his fate into his own hands from his agents, called the club officials, and said he accepted the offer.

More than just an exit: Bayern Munich's pillar is about to go

Some alternative sources claim that the now-controversial French defender had been stalling Bayern for months because his representatives promised they would bring him an offer from Real Madrid. Since that did not happen—and the Germans did what they said they would do by withdrawing the offer—Upamecano realized the situation had become serious and personally called Max Eberl. From what we know, the Bavarians didn‘t change the offer once it ran out and when Upamecano came back, they offered him the same deal as before. It is expected that both parties will put their signature on the agreement very soon now, when there are no obstacles.

Germany - DFB Pokal Quarterfinals

Tuesday

22.45: (1.48) Leverkusen (4.50) St.Pauli (6.75)

Wednesday

22.45: (6.00) Holstein Kiel (4.55) Stuttgart (1.50)

10.02. Tuesday

22.45: (3.50) Hertha (3.45) Freiburg (2.10)

11.02. Wednesday

22.45: (1.30) Bayern (5.90) RB Leipzig (9.00)

* odds are subject to change