Despite his eleven years in Munich, Kenan Yildiz looks back on FC Bayern without nostalgia. In an interview, the Juventus striker talks about problems with the German record champions – and the DFB.
Kenan Yildiz joined FC Bayern’s youth department at the tender age of seven and played in all the youth teams up to the U19s. After eleven years with the German record champions, the Regensburg-born striker finally moved to Juventus Turin in Italy, where he quickly established himself in the professional team and is now an absolute regular (38 appearances including ten goals in the current season). It was only in February that Yildiz extended his contract with the Old Lady until 2030.
The now 20-year-old does not look back on his long time in Munich with nostalgia. On the contrary: “It was easy to leave FC Bayern,” said Yildiz in an interview with Corriere dello Sport. “There were a lot of problems with Bayern. I was there for eleven years, but I never felt their trust. There was always someone better than me.”
DFB squad was never up for debate
And it wasn’t just FC Bayern, but also the DFB, that Yildiz felt under-appreciated, as he explains in the interview. That’s why playing for the DFB team was never an option. “In Germany, I wasn’t considered good enough, they always nominated other players,” says Yildiz: “That’s why I decided to play for the Turkish national team.”
The son of a Turkish father and a German mother already played for the Turkish team at U17 and U21 level. In October 2023, just one year after leaving Munich, Yildiz finally made his debut for the Turkish senior national team at the age of 18. To date, the 20-year-old has played 26 international matches for Turkey (five goals) and was a regular for Germany at Euro 2024,
At the end of March, Yildiz will now face some groundbreaking international matches: In the play-offs, Turkey will first face Romania (March 26, 6 p.m.) and – assuming a win in the first clash – then Slovakia or Kosovo (March 31) to qualify for the World Cup finals for the first time since 2002. A clash with the DFB team would be possible in the USA as early as the round of 16.