Julian Nagelsmann will become the new Bayern Munich manager at the end of this season, as a record-breaking deal was reached.
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Nagelsmann, 33, will leave RB Leipzig to take charge of Bayern this summer as the German giants agreed to pay a huge compensation package which could be worth up to $30 million and that is a world record fee for a manager.
It comes after current Bayern manager, Hansi Flick, asked for his contract to be terminated two years early as he is widely expected to become the next boss of the German national team when Joachim Low steps down this summer.
As for Nagelsmann, the young German coach has worked wonders at Hoffenheim and then Leipzig, as he has essentially led the latter to back-to-back top four finishes in the Bundesliga as well as the Champions League knockout rounds in both seasons he’s been in charge, including a trip to the semifinal in 2019-20.
Nagelsmann, who is from Bavaria, has signed a five-year contract and will join Bayern on July 1.
“Julian Nagelsmann represents a new generation of coaches. Despite his young age, he already has an impressive CV. We are convinced that with Julian Nagelsmann, we can continue the magnificent successes of recent years,” club president Herbert Hainer said. “I would like to express my thanks to Hansi Flick on behalf of FC Bayern. He took over our team at a difficult time in 2019 and went on to win six trophies, with the seventh hopefully to follow. He will always have a place in FC Bayern’s history books. We wish him all the best for his future.”
All of the leading men at Bayern thanked Flick for his service and hailed Nagelsmann as the next big thing, and that is the general feeling across the soccer world.
The next step for Nagelsmann
This is the next logical step for Nagelsmann, as his mercurial rise continues.
After Jose Mourinho was fired by Tottenham, the young coach was said to be Daniel Levy’s first-choice at Spurs and perhaps that forced Bayern to act quickly.
The Bundesliga is certainly going to be interesting next season as some top young coaches moved among the top clubs with Nagelsmann leaving Leipzig for Bayern, Marco Rose leaving Borussia Monchengladbach for Dortmund and perhaps former USMNT assistant coach Jesse Marsch could head to Leipzig from Salzburg in Austria.
As for Hansi Flick, he moves on after two superb seasons at Bayern, as he won the treble in 2019-20 after replacing Niko Kovac as he stepped up from his position as an assistant coach.
Flick led Bayern to Champions League glory last season but Bayern were knocked out by PSG in the quarterfinals this time around, yet they look set to win back-to-back German titles under the well-liked coach.
“The last two years will be unforgettable for me. The emotions, the wins, the titles, but also the day-to-day work on the pitch have been a lot of fun for me – it’s been an amazing time. Success can only be achieved together! A coach is nothing without his team, and I was lucky enough to have fantastic players here in Munich and a staff and a coaching team who did incredible work,” Flick said.
Nagelsmann will one day end up in the Premier League but for now he has his dream job coaching his beloved Bayern Munich.
With a squad full of experienced stars, this will be a challenge for him as the likes of Thomas Muller and Robert Lewandowski can’t go on forever, while David Alaba and Jerome Boateng will move on this summer.
Bayern’s rebuild will be fun and they have one of the brightest young managers in the game to lead it.
