FC Bayern presents its next last-minute transfer in Bryan Zaragoza. The Spaniard is reminiscent of Ribéry. But his lightning change caused fan anger.
This week Christoph Freund became a permanent guest in the FC Bayern press room on Säbener Straße. After he had already introduced Sacha Boey there on Tuesday (you can read more about FC Bayern’s record winter transfer of Sacha Boey here), just three days later he took his place on the podium in front of the microphone again, accompanied by a new player. And he had brought along Bayern’s next new signing, Bryan Zaragoza, to his presentation.
“Bryan sees his future at FC Bayern – this future begins now,” said Freund, summing up the events of the past few days quite pragmatically. “In football you always have to be flexible, and so we have reacted again due to the current situation,” he explained.
As of the summer, Zaragoza was already under contract with Bayern. Because in addition to Serge Gnabry, who is expected back in a few weeks, Kingsley Coman (torn knee ligament) will also be out for months, the Munich team brought forward the summer transfer by half a year. A loan, which Bayern reportedly now pays four to five million euros to Granada FC in addition to the transfer fee of 13 million euros, makes this possible.
In order to negotiate this, Freund flew back to Spain on Monday. “An agreement like this involves three parties, and we are happy that he is joining us earlier than actually agreed,” he said happily.
Zaragoza cites Ribéry as a role model
Zaragoza flew to Munich early on Thursday morning. A day later, he held the record champions’ jersey up to the cameras. The fact that the number 17 and not 7 can be read next to his first name Bryan is probably mainly due to the fact that it is already occupied by Gnabry.
It’s not just the second digit of his chosen shirt number that reminds the Spaniard of Bayern’s 2013 Champions League winner Franck Ribéry, who also once wore the number 7.
In terms of his stature, Zaragoza, who is 1.64 meters tall, is similar to the Frenchman, who is only six centimeters taller. Above all, the style of play of the fast, tricky winger is also similar to that of Ribéry. Zaragoza called him “a great example for all young players and a great role model for me.” Another footballing idol for him was “Lionel Messi,” said the 22-year-old. “I really like Leroy Sané and Kingsley Coman here at Bayern.”
Effenberg: “Zaragoza can make the difference”
Like Ribéry once did, Zaragoza also sees himself as a “street footballer,” as he emphasized. “Yes, yes, I am.” And when asked how he would describe himself in three words, he replied: “Winner. Intelligent. Humble.” It will be interesting to see whether he will be the hoped-for reinforcement for the record champions with this special mixture.
Stefan Effenberg definitely believes he can do that. “Especially against opponents who focus on defense, he is exactly the player Bayern needs up front,” writes Effenberg in his latest t-online column: “One who is always looking for one-on-one situations , goes into dribbling – and can make the difference.” Zaragoza may have to “get used to the Bundesliga a bit,” believes Effenberg. “With a little bit of trying, he will definitely succeed.”
He has attracted attention in the Spanish league this season with six goals and two assists in 21 games. With his spectacular brace, which he scored in the 2-2 draw against FC Barcelona at Camp Nou, he finally shot himself into the notebooks of the scouts of Europe’s top clubs. With 118 dribbles, he has the best number in the league when it comes to solo runs. Freund sees him as a type of player that Bayern hasn’t had in their squad before. That’s why he made his move early at the end of last year and completed it even earlier than originally planned.