Bayern Munich center-back Kim Min-jae has seen his position in the pecking order sharply decline this season. After being a fixture in the XI in his first two seasons in Bavaria, the Korean international has lost his place to last summer’s big arrival from Bayer Leverkusen, German men’s national team starter Jonathan Tah.
Despite that, Kim is still playing his fair share of games, and is well into the double digits in Bundesliga starts. The adjustment has been a challenge — but it is not like he has been frozen
out, either. And accordingly, Kim has accepted his new role behind Bayern’s new undisputed top-choice pairing of Tah and France star Dayot Upamecano.
“I’ve never experienced a long period of not playing, so it was a bit difficult at first,” the 29-year-old shared in comments sourced to Footballist via Tz München by @iMiaSanMia. “But over time, I’ve realized there are positives. I rely heavily on my speed, and our team plays a style that demands a lot of physical effort.
“So I think the current situation is good. I always thought that playing regularly was the solution, but now I’m happy with my role as a challenger.”
BFW Commentary
It is not every player that gracefully accepts a reduced squad status without immediately looking for an exit route.
From a squad planning perspective, Bayern would seem to have many reasons to move on from Kim. His age, salary, and declining transfer value all make the prospects of an extension hard to imagine at this stage. And none of them make a lucrative move away likely, either. But if Kim is happy and settled where he is at, Bayern have some luxury in center-back depth for the foreseeable future and a player that the club knows it can call on when needed. This is looking more and more like Kim will run down his contract (up in 2028) in Munich.
If you are looking for more Bayern Munich and German national team coverage, check out the latest episodes of Bavarian Podcast Works, which you can get on Acast, Spotify, Apple, or any leading podcast distributor…
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