A familiar pattern has emerged at Bayern Munich in recent years: key players edge towards the end of their contracts, attract interest from Europe's top clubs, are deemed too important to lose, sign lucrative renewals under pressure and then, for one reason or another, stop performing at their usual level.
That happened with Leon Goretzka, Serge Gnabry, Kingsley Coman and, to a lesser extent, Eric-Maxim Choupo-Moting too. Soon after signing new deals, their wages no longer matched their importance on the pitch, yet they still tied up financial resources and blocked squad planning. Bayern wanted to sell, while the players quite rightly pointed to their contracts. That is how Bayern ended up carrying a number of burdens from the past, until they eventually left on free transfers (Goretzka, Choupo-Moting), extended on reduced wages (Gnabry) or were sold for a comparatively low fee (Coman).
Now Alphonso Davies risks following the same path: after months of contract poker, with Real Madrid persistently interested, he signed an extremely lucrative extension in February 2025 until 2030. Reported basic salary: €15 million, with bonuses capable of pushing it significantly higher. Signing fee: €22 million.
Bayern Munich: Alphonso Davies has been struggling since his cruciate ligament tear
Shortly after signing his extension, he tore his cruciate ligament, was out for nine months, suffered several health setbacks after his comeback and still has not returned to his former level. At the end of last season, Davies suffered a muscle fibre bundle tear, which limited him to just 16 minutes for Canada at the long-awaited home World Cup before he returned to Bayern Munich carrying a knock.
While his team-mates toured Asia, Davies stayed in Munich working on his latest comeback alongside new signing Ismael Saibari and Jamal Musiala. He is due to return to team training this week and be ready again for the Supercup against Borussia Dortmund on 22 August, but even then he could still find himself on the bench.
For Davies, it is an unfamiliar situation. This summer marks the first time since his breakthrough in the 2019/20 treble season that he is no longer the undisputed first-choice left-back. In recent years, Bayern had filled in for him with flexible stop-gaps such as Lucas Hernandez, Raphael Guerreiro, Hiroki Ito, Konrad Laimer and Josip Stanisic.
This time, though, Bayern have signed Nathaniel Brown for €50 million. He is expected to fight openly with Davies for the position and, as things stand, is even seen as the favourite. Last season, Brown was the bright spot in a weak Eintracht Frankfurt side and, at the World Cup, the bright spot in a weak Germany team.
IMAGOBrown recently even outdid Davies in his signature discipline
Unlike Davies, who returned carrying a knock, Brown was able to find his rhythm on the Asia tour and impress coach Vincent Kompany. Quite apart from his superior fitness, Brown is technically cleaner and reads the game better than Davies, whose game is built more on athleticism and speed. Players with a strengths profile like Davies' rely on their fitness more than most. Health problems blunt them badly, in the truest sense of the word, and that is exactly what has happened to Davies lately.
One statistic makes the point clearly: across his first six seasons at Bayern Munich, Davies was always among the fastest players in the Bundesliga. His yearly top speed ranged from 35.97 km/h to a peak of 36.53 km/h in the 2022/23 season. Since his comeback, though, he has managed only 35.11 km/h. That is a sharp drop and left him only 39th in the league last season. Brown, by contrast, hit 35.78 km/h and ranked 11th.
The new signing therefore not only brings a broader skill set than Davies, he has also recently beaten him in the very area that used to define him. Perhaps with that in mind, Brown said at his official unveiling that, alongside "a feel for space", "speed" was also his greatest strength.
Season | Top speed Alphonso Davies |
|---|---|
2019/20 | 36,51 km/h |
2020/21 | 35,97 km/h |
2021/22 | 36,08 km/h |
2022/23 | 36,53 km/h |
2023/24 | 36,1 km/h |
2024/25 | 36,24 km/h |
2025/26 | 35,11 km/h |
Sale of Alphonso Davies this summer "ruled out"
There is, in theory, another way Davies could get chances this season: on the left wing, where he regularly played for Canada in the past. Luis Diaz is the undisputed starter there. But if he needs a rest or is unavailable, Bayern suddenly look short.
The planned nominal alternative is academy product Arijon Ibrahimovic, who lacks top-level experience. Central players such as Musiala, Gnabry and Saibari can fill in. Against Jeju SK FC, Kompany tested Bara Ndiaye on the left of the attack, while 17-year-old Maycon Cardozo also made a positive impression in pre-season. Kompany could yet try Davies there too.
Inside Bayern Munich, they still believe, or rather hope, that Davies can return to his former level. A sale in this transfer window is therefore "ruled out", as board member for sport Max Eberl stressed, of all times at Brown's unveiling. Softer factors also work in Davies' favour. He is seen as a mood-maker because of his positive manner. His nationality also makes him important for Bayern's reach in the North American market, much like Min-Jae Kim in the Asian market. In the end, though, performances on the pitch are what count.
At 25, Davies is at a crossroads. If he loses the battle for the position to Brown and endures another disappointing season, he could quickly land in the same situation Gnabry, Goretzka, Coman and Choupo-Moting once faced. Internally, Bayern would view him as too expensive for his sporting importance and that would automatically make him a candidate for sale. In that case, however, Davies could calmly point to his highly lucrative contract, which still runs until 2030.