At this point, it is official that Bayern Munich and Leon Goretzka will part way in the summer of 2026. However, there were also many rumors claiming that the Germany international was close to already
leaving in the January transfer window, with La Liga heavyweights Atlético Madrid supposedly in for him. In the end, Bayern’s #8 decided to prolong his stay at the club for 6 more months. German news site Abendzeitung reported, as captured by @iMiaSanMia, why he chose to stay:
Leon Goretzka decided to stay at Bayern until the end of the season purely for sporting reasons, as Atlético Madrid were ready to match his Bayern salary for the rest of the season. Goretzka sees a big chance of winning his second Champions League title, 7th Bundesliga title and even a treble this season. He does not want to miss out on that and wants to leave on a high after 8 years at the club. In addition, after he made his comeback with the national team last March, Goretzka does not want to jeopardize his World Cup chances by moving to a new club and league mid-season, since this could be his last major tournament for Germany.
It is usually a good rule of thumb to trust the players over reporters, but is interesting that Atlético were apparently willing to match his Bayern salary. If they were willing to do so now, one has to wonder how much he could earn when he moves for no transfer fee whatsoever in the summer.
