Bayern Munich confirm Upamecano signing
Bayern Munich has confirmed the signing of RB Leipzig center-back Dayot Upamecano.
The 22-year-old; who was linked with Manchester United and Liverpool, will officially join Bayern on July 1 and has signed a five-year contract.
Bayern Munich director Hasan Salihamidzic said: “We’re happy that we’ve been able to sign Dayot Upamecano. We’re convinced that Dayot will be a very important member of our team in the coming years.”
ℹ️ #FCBayern have agreed to sign Dayot #Upamecano from 1st July 2021 🤝
📰 https://t.co/h1HtzEKVDG#MiaSanMia
— 🏆🏆🏆FC Bayern English🏆🏆🏆 (@FCBayernEN) February 14, 2021
Upamecano reportedly had a release clause worth €42.5 million ($51m) and will bolster the Bayern backline with the Bundesliga club likely to lose defender David Alaba this summer after he rejected Bayern’s offer of a new five-year deal.
“Upamecano is a young player, 22, whose qualities have already developed extraordinarily,” Salihamidzic said.
“I was always convinced that we had presented a good concept. We presented him with our vision of his career at Bayern. During the past week in Doha, I had further talked with everyone involved. At the end of a long process; the players, family, and management were convinced that FC Bayern was the right club.”
Upamecano will remain with Leipzig until the end of the season. They are second in the Bundesliga, four points behind Bayern who have a game in hand.
On the other hand, RB Leipzig sporting director Markus Kroschel said: “Dayot is a player with exceptional skills. The fact that he will be leaving us at the end of the season is a shame, of course, given his performances for RB Leipzig; but at the same time; it was to be expected to a certain extent.
“We prepared for this early on, for example with the signing of Josip Gvardiol for the coming season, and are well-positioned with our planning for the future.
“Now, we want to achieve the most that we can from this season with Dayot and we are sure that he will continue to give his all until the end.”
Upamecano, subsequently, joined RB Leipzig from Red Bull Salzburg in January 2017 and has made 139 appearances for the club to date.
