Once Harry Kane has signed: a completely unfamiliar situation awaits Max Eberl at Bayern Munich

Since becoming Bayern Munich's sporting director in March 2024, Max Eberl has spent his first two full seasons trying to keep key players from leaving on free transfers the following summer. Those players carried considerable market value, and keeping them meant seemingly endless negotiations, rival clubs used as leverage, shifting demands and constant updates on where talks stood.

Eberl and Bayern's sporting hierarchy eventually secured the most important deals, but at enormous financial cost. Alphonso Davies extended his expiring contract in February 2025, and Jamal Musiala signed a new deal that month. Joshua Kimmich followed in March. Talks over an extension for Leroy Sane fell through, and he joined Galatasaray in Istanbul on a free transfer. Nobody in Munich has regretted that, of course. In February 2026, Eberl and the club completed a deal with Dayot Upamecano.

Harry Kane's extension is the only pressing matter now. His contract expires next summer, but several reports said talks reached a breakthrough last week. President Herbert Hainer said only "details" remained to be settled, such as the handling of image and personal rights, before the 33-year-old striker extends his deal until 2029. The question is no longer whether Kane will extend. It is when.

Manuel Neuer and Sven Ulreich likely to call time on their careers in 2027

Once Kane signs, only two professional contracts will expire next summer: those of Manuel Neuer (40) and Sven Ulreich (38). Both veteran goalkeepers will in all likelihood end their careers then. Bayern have earmarked Jonas Urbig as their future number one, and there is now even debate about an early change of guard.

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Nor does the summer of 2028 bring much medium-term pressure for Eberl and Bayern's sporting hierarchy. Sacha Boey and Hiroki Ito, whom Eberl would prefer to move on long before then, Min-Jae Kim, who has occasionally been mentioned as a candidate for sale, and Serge Gnabry will all be able to leave on free transfers. Gnabry is already more of a squad rotation player and, at almost 33 by then, will in all likelihood no longer carry the same sporting importance.

With Kane tied down, every key player with a long-term future will have a contract until at least 2029. That would leave Eberl in a position he has not known over the previous two seasons: free of short-term pressure over extensions. He will have completed all time-sensitive internal contract negotiations well before the turn of the year.

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After Harry Kane: when will Michael Olise extend his Bayern Munich contract?

Beyond that, Eberl's task will be to agree extensions early enough to avoid another precarious situation in the 2028/29 season. As things stand, the contracts of numerous important players expire in 2029: Jonas Urbig, Jonathan Tah, Konrad Laimer, Josip Stanisic, Joshua Kimmich, Aleksandar Pavlovic, Tom Bischof, Luis Diaz, Michael Olise, Lennart Karl (and probably Kane).

Olise sits at the top of Eberl's agenda. The 24-year-old Frenchman has become one of the world's best players since joining Bayern Munich in 2024 and has repeatedly been linked with top international clubs, above all Real Madrid. "We would like to extend Michael's contract beyond 2029. That is our wish, but there is a third party involved," Eberl said on the sidelines of Saturday's 2-2 draw against FC Augsburg. "To be honest, there haven't been any talks yet." 

For Bayern Munich, there is no immediate need to act. Olise has no release clause and earns a reported €16 million, relatively modest for a player of his quality. An extension would inevitably put him in the same salary bracket as Kane and Musiala, the current top earners on around €25 million each.

Bayern Munich: when do the players' contracts expire?