Kim Min-jae Transfers to 'Prestigious' Bayern Munich: A New Chapter in His Football Career

2023-07-18 15:42:38

[골닷컴] Reporter Lee Jung-bin = ‘Monster’ defender Kim Min-jae (26) has confirmed his transfer to ‘prestigious’ Bayern Munich (Germany), which is one of the world’s most ‘big clubs’ and has won the most German Bundesliga titles (32 times). He signed a contract until 2028.

After moving to Bayern Munich on the 19th (Korean time), Kim Min-jae said, “I am really looking forward to it” through the official website and “I will continue to develop here. I want to play a lot of games and win as many titles as possible.” According to local reports, the transfer fee is 50 million euros (approximately 71 billion won), which is the amount allowed for transfer (buyout), and the annual salary is 12 million euros (approximately 17 billion won). His contract is for 5 years.

Kim Min-jae, who pushed for a transfer to take on a new challenge this summer, was likely to transfer to Manchester United (England) in the first place. In particular, it was considered a ‘matter of time’ to enter the English Premier League (EPL) as he received a ‘love call’ from the winter transfer market in January, and specific salaries were mentioned last month.

However, despite the opening of the EPL transfer market, negotiations with Manchester United fell into a ‘deadlock’, and in the meantime, he received a transfer offer from Bayern Munich and set a negotiating table. In the process, he was offered better conditions, and in particular, as coach Thomas Tuchel (49, Germany) wanted to recruit him directly, he reached a personal agreement without hesitation and decided to go to Bayern Munich.

Kim Min-jae, wearing a Bayern Munich uniform, became the 21st Korean Bundesliga player ever. Previously, Cha Beom-geun (70), Park Joo-ho (36, retired), Koo Ja-cheol (34, Jeju United), Son Heung-min (30, Tottenham Hotspur), and Ji Dong-won (32, FC Seoul) played. Starting from the new season, you can also see an exciting story of confrontation with Lee Jae-seong (30, Mainz) and Jung Woo-young (23, Stuttgart).

Kim Min-jae has been playing for Jeonbuk Hyundai (Korea) since 2017, and after playing for two years, he moved to Beijing Guoan (China) and Fenerbahce (Turkey) in 2021, stepping into the European stage. He continued to grow rapidly as time passed and entered the ‘big league’ wearing a Napoli (Italy) uniform last summer.

Kim Min-jae, who moved to Naples, immediately established himself as a ‘core’ and showed off his ‘monster’-like defense against prominent strikers in Italy’s Serie A as well as the UEFA Champions League (UCL). In particular, it perfectly filled the place where Kalidou Koulibaly (31, Al-Hilal) left. This earned him the nickname ‘Iron Pillar’.

In fact, while playing 45 official games (44 starting games), he boasted a stable defense with solid physical, fast speed, and intelligent play. He also smoothly connected the pass without any mistakes even during the build-up from the rear, and scored two goals while showing advantages in set pieces.

Kim Min-jae took the lead in helping Napoli rise to the top of Serie A after 33 years with outstanding performances. And he also won the honor of being selected as the best defender of Serie A and the best eleven at the same time in the 2022-2023 season. This was a ‘great record’ of being the first winner of Asian nationality and the first winner from the winning team. Afterwards, after struggling with staying in Naples and transferring, he made a new nest with Bayern Munich and now goes to conquer the Bundesliga.