Joshua Kimmich has never been very popular in Germany.
There are several reasons for this — his loud nature on the pitch, some very dangerous fouls in the past — but one of the biggest reasons for this animosity has always been the fact that he has been made out as the face of Germany’s current so-called ‘loser generation.’ Joshua Kimmich’s first appearance in a major tournament was in the 2016 European Championships, where Germany reached the semifinals, but he only made one appearance throughout.
His first tournament with Germany as a key player was the 2018 World Cup, which of course ended in abject failure as the reigning champions exited in the group stages.
The 2021 EUROs were also a failure, the 2022 World Cup repeated the embarrassment of 2018 and 2024’s quarterfinal exit did little to soothe the pain of those failures. Kimmich has become the face of these failures to most German fans. It cannot be easy when the football fans of an entire country associate you with such failure and let you know about it as well.
For a long time, however, Bayern Munich was the support he needed among the German backlash. Honorary president Uli Hoeneß, in particular, would often go to the media to fight off any harsh criticism the Bavarians’ #6 would get.
Then Thomas Tuchel was made Bayern head coach in 2023. He and Joshua Kimmich infamously did not get along as Tuchel preferred a different sort of midfielder. This increased attention on Kimmich and how he was supposedly not the right fit funneled even more critique towards the Germany international, with some Bayern fans adding on to the ever growing anti-Kimmich sentiment German fans were already sure of. The support from Bayern officials also suddenly vanished as the negative sentiment grew and Kimmich’s position at Bayern and national team level came under as much scrutiny as never before.
Tuchel may have been fired in 2024, but support for Kimmich did not come back with the head coach’s departure. With a contract expiring in 2025 and contract discussions with Kimmich being suspended for an extended period of time, Bayern went into the summer of 2024 having done little work to renew their Champions League winning midfielder. Kimmich was feeling very unsupported.
“The club’s support wasn’t what I’d hoped for or wanted,” Kimmich explained in a recent interview with ZDF (as captured by @iMiaSanMia). “I had the feeling that Bayern were very open to letting me go [in summer 2024]. That doesn’t help to strengthen the bond between club and player. I spoke with [new board member for sport] Max Eberl. He confirmed it to me again: ‘If you want to leave, then you’re for sale, that’s possible’ — at that point, I didn’t know what would have to happen for me to extend my contract. I was 95% sure I wouldn’t extend.”
The situation dragged on to the year of 2025, where, under the Bosman ruling, Kimmich was now allowed to speak with all clubs interested in his services. Of all those clubs, the former VfB Stuttgart midfielder reveals Paris Saint-Germain was the most serious option.
“Paris was a club that showed me a strong commitment,” Kimmich continued telling ZDF. “One that I hadn’t even really expected. I spoke with the sporting director (Luis Campos) and the coach (Luis Enrique). I have to say they did a really good job and gave me the impression that they really wanted me, so you naturally start looking into it. That really made me think. I was supposed to be an important piece of the puzzle there as a player with a bit more experience. And that definitely has an effect on you. Paris sent me an offer. The financial aspect was incredible. Really. Very, very incredible, I have to say. But I didn’t want to make that the deciding factor. It’s not like I’m single and can only make decisions for myself and my career. I also have a responsibility to make decisions for my family members and to do the right thing.”
The right thing, in the end, turned out to be renewing his contract at Bayern until 2029. New head coach Vincent Kompany played a huge role in this reversal: “I’ve never felt such a great deal of trust as I do now. It was the right decision to extend my contract at Bayern.”
Tuchel’s departure may not have helped Kimmich’s standing at Bayern, but Kompany’s arrival sure did. In the time since that fateful 2024 summer window, he has regained a starting role in midfield, worn the Bayern captain’s armband multiple times, become one of Kompany’s most important players and will lead Germany into the 2026 World Cup as their captain. It is fair to say the esteem he is held in has gone up in recent times.
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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