Report: Christoph Freund’s contract extension at Bayern Munich is imminent

MUNICH, GERMANY - SEPTEMBER 01: Christoph Freund, sporting director of FC Bayern Muenchen, at the press conference at Saebener Strasse training ground on September 01, 2026 in Munich, Germany. (Photo by N. Hermann/FC Bayern via Getty Images) | FC Bayern via Getty Images Let’s think back to the begin

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What is the story about?

Let’s think back to the beginning.

Sporting director Christoph Freund joined Bayern Munich on September 1, 2023, from RB Salzburg to replace Hasan “Brazzo” Salihamidžič as the Bavarians’ sporting director. Having already rejected a move to Chelsea FC in 2022, Freund described the move to Munich as one he could not decline. He immediately set to work on improving the FC Bayern campus, hiring a loan manager (somehow, it was not previously a priority) and team lead coaching development Rene Marić (yes,

that was his title) to ensure a consistent playing style across the academy. The loan strategy improved, loans with options to buy as well as buy back clauses were made the norm and the rate of successful loans went up considerably. Meanwhile, playing style consistency improved somewhat while Marić would eventually be drafted into Vincent Kompany’s coaching team.

However, his one transfer window, in January 2024, as the one man in charge of Bayern’s sporting decisions was terrible. Due to serious interest from Rasenballsport Leipzig, Freund stole ahead of the energy drink ad club and secured Bryan Zaragoza, ahead of a summer transfer.

An injury to Coman would eventually force him to pay extra to being in the Spaniard in the last minutes of the winter transfer window. He joined the chase of center-back Radu Dragusin very late but was beaten to the punch by Tottenham Hotspur, forcing him to pivot and get the Lilywhite’s Eric Dier instead. There were serious discussions to sign the likes of Newcastle United’s Kieran Trippier or Paris Saint Germain’s Nordi Mukiele on a short-term contract or a loan deal, but injuries to Konrad Laimer and Joshua Kimmich days before a game against FC Augsburg saw the need for a right-back escalate and funds freed to sign Sacha Boey from Galatasaray SK. He also took a gamble and, despite some inconspicuous performances on trial, secured teenager Jonah Kusi-Asare’s signature.

Of course, the aforementioned moves aged terribly. Zaragoza managed to play his way out of contention in his six-month loan spell at Bayern, meaning the Bavarians were already looking to offload the former Granada winger as soon as his five-year contract officially started. Sacha Boey has turned out to be far too injury prone and technically inconsistent to warrant a role in the squad. Kusi-Asare has struggled to make an impact at Bayern aside from one good preseason, though he netted Bayern some decent money on his way out to Fulham FC. Eric Dier was the shock success, spending a strong 18 months at Bayern and leaving in 2025 to real appreciation from the fans and club alike.

Over the years, however, he was part of the double act of him and board member for sport Max Eberl, who joined early in 2024, that cleaned up Bayern’s act, secured the likes of Michael Olise and Luis Díaz and led Bayern back to serious success. Now that initial contract from 2023 is set to expire in less than a year’s time, meaning Bayern had to make a decision on whether to extend the Austrian’s contract. According to Bild (as captured by @iMiaSanMia), the decision was always clear:

Christoph Freund’s contract extension is imminent. Within the club, the Austrian is regarded as a loyal team player who has an excellent relationship with coach Vincent Kompany. Bayern have also recently entrusted Freund with responsibility for the Campus.

Now, does Freund deserve it? His only transfer window alone was terrible, but he has certainly improved Bayern’s academy with moves that have ranged from decent to good. From the outside, those results do not blow anybody away.

But, unlike Eberl, most of Freund’s work is done behind the scenes. Like it or not, it is hard to fairly evaluate the 49-year-old’s performance so far from the outside. Hopefully the Bayern brass know what they are doing in retaining Freund.