New signing Ryan Gravenberch has reaffirmed his high expectations of himself at Bayern Munich.
“My goal is to be part of the starting eleven as soon as possible. If I can do that, it will be easier to make the leap into the national team,” said the 20-year-old midfielder, who came from Ajax Amsterdam and is one of the big ones Talents in world football are considered “kickers”.
It is his aspiration to “play with the best footballers”, “to measure myself against them, to learn from them and to win many titles with them”.
Gravenberch has signed a contract in Munich until 2027. Negotiations with Bayern took a long time. “The first talks were a few months ago. I didn’t bother with any other offers because I really wanted to switch to Bayern Munich,” said Gravenberch, who defeated Manchester City (0-1) in the friendly in the USA at the weekend. was substituted on in the 52nd minute.
When the interest became concrete, “I didn’t have to think long, because my ex-coach Erik ten Hag also said that Bayern was simply a great club and that if I switched here, I would make the absolutely right decision,” said Gravenberch , which according to Ajax had cost a fixed transfer fee of 18.5 million euros.
Gravenberch sees similarities to Pogba
In the interview, Gravenberch also spoke about Juventus star Paul Pogba, with whom he is repeatedly compared. “Even back then, when I played for Ajax when I was young, there was this comparison. It’s always difficult for you to judge something like that,” said the Dutchman.
“The way he moves on the pitch, his body, he’s also tall and has long legs, then his technique – we might have a few similarities,” Gravenberch admitted, adding: “Because I’m tall, I have long, skinny legs , which I sometimes use and win balls that way.”