“Unthing”
Basler rages over Bayern’s decision
May 3, 2026 – 2:48 p.mReading time: 2 minutes
Leon Goretzka’s time at FC Bayern ends in the summer. Former professional Mario Basler has a clear opinion on the national player’s departure.
Mario Basler has criticized FC Bayern for letting Leon Goretzka’s contract expire next summer. In Sport1 “Doppelpass” he described the Munich team’s decision as an “absurdity at FC Bayern”.
The three-time German champion demanded that it was not Aleksandar Pavlović who had to play alongside Kimmich in the center of midfield, but rather Goretzka. “For me, Goretzka belongs there. For me he is the more stable one,” explained Basler on the show.
For Basler it is also clear who should start in the semi-final second leg of the Champions League on Wednesday. “I would definitely let Goretzka play from the start on Wednesday against Paris,” he made it clear.
The fact that Basler comes out as a Goretzka fan comes as a surprise to long-time “Doppelpass” viewers. Shortly before the former Schalke player moved to Munich, Basler had predicted in 2018 that Goretzka would not play five games for the record champions.
Most recently, Goretzka himself addressed Basler’s statements from 2018 in an interview with Bayern’s club magazine “51” and commented smugly: “Basler said that I wouldn’t play five games for Bayern – it ended up being a few more.”
In the current version of the show, Basler was confronted with the excerpt from back then and even apologized for it. Directly looking into the camera, the now 57-year-old said: “Leon, of course I apologize to you. I wasn’t so convinced back then, today I’m totally convinced of you. It’s a shame that you’re leaving FC Bayern.”
