Joshua Kimmich accused of 'doing gymnastics everywhere' and damaging Bayern Munich as ex-Germany star tells him to stick to his 'best position'

Former Bayern Munich and Germany defender Babbel launched a scathing critique of Kimmich, claiming the current Bayern star is "doing gymnastics everywhere" and hurting the team by not sticking to one role. Babbel insisted Kimmich should return to right-back, calling him "world-class" in that position, and said he was "just average" as a central midfielder. Babbel’s remarks follow ongoing debates in Germany over Kimmich’s best role.

Kimmich’s positional play has long divided opinion. While he sees his future in central midfield, both former Bayern coach Thomas Tuchel and current Germany boss Julian Nagelsmann have used him at right-back. New Bayern boss Vincent Kompany continues to field him in midfield, a decision that may now face further scrutiny given Babbel’s harsh assessment. Meanwhile, Bayern are pushing to maintain their dominant form at the Club World Cup, where they opened with a 10-0 win over Auckland City.

In an interview with Sport.de , Babbel argued that the player’s tendency to roam the pitch and take on too much responsibility is hurting the team’s balance: “Joshua is doing gymnastics everywhere, it's a total mystery to me. Now he's had a phase again where he thought he had to do everything, and as a result, the central defenders got into trouble and looked bad,” Babbel said, highlighting how Kimmich’s freedom in midfield can destabilise the defensive unit behind him.

Babbel, who spent eight years at Bayern and played primarily as a right-back, insisted Kimmich’s insistence on playing centrally is misguided: “He should finally stay in his best position, right-back. He was world-class there, but in midfield he's just average.”

Kimmich has played over 230 Bundesliga matches for Die Roten. He has switched between right-back and midfield roles since joining from RB Leipzig. He also captained Euro 2024 finalists Germany at and currently holds the same role under Julian Nagelsmann.

The Bundesliga winners continue their Club World Cup campaign after demolishing Auckland City 10-0. As they progress, boss Vincent Kompany must weigh whether to persist with Kimmich in midfield or heed the growing calls to redeploy him at right-back. Babbel’s criticism also sheds light on wider concerns within Bayern, including a lack of academy products coming through, especially in defensive positions. The debate over Kimmich’s ideal role is far from settled as Bayern chase more silverware this summer.