There have been roadblocks in negotiations between Dayot Upamecano and Bayern Munich over a new contract, primarily due to Upamecano’s camp wanting a greater overall package than the club is willing to offer. There is also heavy interest in the French center-back from Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid, and several other European football giants, so his entourage has that to leverage at the negotiating table right now.
In particular, his representatives are keen on including a release clause in a new
deal estimated to be around €65m to allow buying clubs to activate said clause from the second year on the new deal should they so choose to do so, which Bayern is hesitant to do in addition to giving him a wage increase. This back and forth has raised justifiable doubts as to whether or not the towering center back wants to stay at Bayern long-term or not, but there are now some possible indications of intent that could suggest he’s set for a longer stay.
Per information from Bild (via @iMiaSanMia), Upamecano has reportedly moved to the Grünwald region of Munich and moved into a home that was previously occupied by French Bayern legend Franck Ribéry:
@BILD spotted a white moving van with French license plates arriving at the villa of Dayot Upamecano in the Harlaching district of Munich on Saturday afternoon. Three men packed the van full of furniture and other household items. Upamecano and his family are moving out of their villa. After the move, the moving van drove to Grünwald, where numerous Bayern players such as Michael Olise, Joshua Kimmich, Leon Goretzka and Raphaël Guerreiro already live. Upamecano moved to a house where Franck Ribéry had previously lived. This could be an indication that the defender will stay in Munich, since it would be unusual for a player who intends to leave in 6 months to change his house so shortly before his departure. Upamecano and his management did not respond when asked. But BILD has learned that the player had his new property since the summer – and now he’s moved there.
As Bild have speculated, it would certainly be highly unusual for a player to move houses, but stay in the city that their club is in, let alone the fact that Upamecano has moved into a home that a Bayern legend used to live in. His current contract with Bayern is set to run through June 2026 and he has been a massive part of Vincent Kompany’s back line after it took him a few seasons to really become a consistent performer for the German Rekordmeister after he joined from RB Leipzig.
Bayern’s interest in Borussia Dortmund’s Nico Schlotterbeck is also something that’s in play, but the club has remained confident that they will eventually be able to agree on a new deal with Upamecano. One or the other would likely happen and it’s not as likely that Bayern would make a move for Schlotterbeck if they extend Upamecano’s contract.
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