Upamecano: I turned down Man Utd because of my parents

A new Bayern Munich player Dayot Upamecano is one of the brightest young defenders in Europe right now. The current Bundesliga champion paid 5.5 billion Ksh for the player from Leipzig and he is expected to be the cornersone of Bayern’s defense for the next decade.

And yet, the same player had the chance to sign for big Manchester United when he was just 17, but eventually turned it down for RB Leipzig.

„I was a young boy. I wanted to sign for them straight away. Manchester United! But then my parents took me aside and said: ‘Let’s think carefully about this. We thought about it for a long time and then decided that going step by step was the best option for me. Everything Ralf Rangnick said came true” told Upamecano to the Athletic.

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The then sports director of Leipzig Ralf Ragnick was a key figure in the development of the new Bayern defender.

„Ralf was the most important coach for me. He’s a professor, a scientist of football, and he also cares about everything. He’s always there for you with advice on matters football and non-football, every single day. It’s not natural for a coach to be this involved with a squad of 25 players. I’ll never forget what he did for me, he was a key person in my career. I’m eternally grateful” acknowledged the Frenchmen.

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In February this year, Bayern Munich announced that Upamecano will join Bayern in June. Two months later, the French defender signed his boss, Julian Nagelsmann, to be his new/old coach. And Upamecano is more than happy to work with the German tactician.

„I had no idea that he would also go there when I agreed to join Bayern. It’s funny how that’s worked out. Julian is an unbelievable manager. He’ll show you a video every day to help you develop. He doesn’t just tell you what you did wrong but gives you concrete advice to do it better. He really takes you to another level. For example, because of Julian, I have improved a lot in terms of opening the game from the defence with precise passes into the midfield, and he told me to use my dribbling abilities in order to create spaces going forward. He improves everyone, perhaps even the journalists he talks to” said Upamecano.