He has been wearing the Bayern jersey for more than seven and a half years now. After spells in London, Bremen, and Hoffenheim, Munich has become his home. If Serge Gnabry has his way, it will remain that way beyond the summer. For that to happen, he needs consistency and a pay cut. The bosses are waiting to see what happens.
On Tuesday evening, when Bayern came back from 0-1 down to win the game against Sporting Lisbon, Serge Gnabry (30) was the best Munich player alongside youngster Lennart Karl. The versatile attacker is in good form and is continuing his better Bayern performances this season. This may also be because he is playing for a new contract.
Gnabry’s contract expires in the summer. He himself would like to stay at FC Bayern, feeling very much at home in the state capital, at the club, with his colleagues, and under coach Vincent Kompany. After some difficult phases, partly due to injuries, he has just rediscovered his old joy of playing. Twelve points in 19 competitive games for Bayern (including the Super Cup) is a respectable haul.
Bosses want to wait and see due to Gnabry’s inconsistency
The attacker was already strengthened in the summer. Last year, 2025, he was considered a candidate for sale until late spring, but Munich’s sporting directors removed him from the potential transfer list before the Club World Cup. In a positive conversation with Gnabry, they explained his prospects for the season, which is now 13 match days old. It was a first sign for him that he is wanted and needed. At least until the summer.
What happens after that is still unclear. The Bavarian club’s management wants to take its time. It is quite possible that a decision on the Gnabry case will drag on until March. His performances in recent years have been too inconsistent, according to the office on Säbener Straße. This means that the bosses are generally satisfied with his current performances, but Gnabry continues to play on probation.
The quartet of the future is set
With Lennart Karl, who is 13 years younger, on his way to establishing himself as a permanent fixture, the Munich club now has five professionals for the three positions behind Harry Kane with the return of Jamal Musiala in the new year (Nicolas Jackson is considered the replacement for the Englishman). That would probably be just the right number. And Gnabry alongside the potentially established quartet of the future – Karl, Olise, Musiala, Diaz – would perhaps be the ideal addition. Simply because he can be used in all offensive positions; he could also take on Jackson’s role in an emergency.
Initial informal talks regarding his future have been held, but now – as in the case of Dayot Upamecano, albeit for different reasons – things have come to a standstill for the time being. The Bavarian club’s management sees no urgency in the Gnabry situation at the moment. Talks are expected to resume in the new year, but it is unlikely to be before February at the earliest. Until then, Gnabry needs to continue to perform consistently well.
