Serge Gnabry: Why the Bayern Munich forward deserves his new contract
Serge Gnabry has extended his contract with Bayern Munich, keeping him at the club until 2028. Already eight years into his stay at the Allianz Arena, the 30-year-old remains as important to Vincent Kompany and the record champions as ever…
Signed from Werder Bremen in the summer of 2017, Gnabry spent 12 months at Hoffenheim before reporting for duty at Säbener Straße. In his first season, he won Bayern’s Player of the Year award, which set the tone for the rest of his career at the club.
Now, he is a Bayern stalwart, one of five players left from that 2018/19 Bundesliga title triumph alongside Manuel Neuer, Leon Goretzka, Alphonso Davies and Joshua Kimmich. That was one of six Meisterschale he has picked up, alongside two DFB Cup victories and the crowning glory, the 2019/20 UEFA Champions League.
Alongside his 311 competitive appearances for the club, he has found the back of the net 100 times – only Harry Kane has more among players still at the club. Besides the 2023/24 Bundesliga campaign – which was marred by injury - he has made at least 27 league appearances in every full season, scoring at least seven times in each.
Unsurprisingly, the Bayern hierarchy are delighted to keep him in Bavaria. Upon the announcement of Gnabry’s new two-year agreement, board member for sport Max Eberl said, “Serge is one of the absolute pillars of this team. He’s hugely important both on the pitch and in the changing room. He’s won it all with this club and still wants more. That makes him a role model. He represents Bayern.”
In a squad full of star attacking quality, Gnabry has made the absolute most of his versatility, performing and contributing whether on the left flank, right flank, up front or in attacking midfield.
Watch: The best of Serge Gnabry
That flexibility has never been more important, both on an individual and team level. Michael Olise and Luis Díaz currently occupy the starting wide positions in Bayern’s three-pronged attack, with Kane completing the triumvirate. With good reason, too – the Frenchman and the Colombian have found the back of the net 10 times apiece, while also providing an extra 26 league assists between them so far in 2025/26.
Injuries are a regular occurrence, though, and Jamal Musiala’s absence for the first half of the campaign could have been a major issue for Kompany and Co. However, Swiss-army knife Gnabry, alongside emerging talent Lennart Karl, plugged the hole when Musiala was away – and then some.
Despite managing just 11 league starts, Gnabry has six goals and five assists – fourth- and third-most for the club this term. Five of those strikes have been Bayern’s first in a game, too, underlining his ability to make a big impact.
Although he does not possess the pace he once did, his experience, quick thinking and clever positional awareness more than make up for it. And it is those other qualities that make him a different, game-changing alternative to Díaz and Olise. For example, Gnabry’s 88.7 percent pass completion rate is higher than both of the wide duo, as is his 11.7km covered per 90 minutes.
It is not just what he provides instead of his teammates, though, but also what he offers in tandem with them. Olise, Musiala and Karl are still towards the beginning of their careers, while Gnabry is approaching a decade at Bayern alone. They still have so much to learn from the Germany international, particularly his eagerness to adapt to the team's requirements as a whole.
As Kane, Olise and Díaz steal the limelight, players such as Gnabry can often be overshadowed. Kompany, though, is aware that titles are not won with only 11 players, and having consistent performers such as the former Arsenal man at his disposal is worth its weight in gold.
“Serge is a very underrated player,” he said following Bayern’s 6-0 victory over RB Leipzig on the opening day of the season, a game in which Gnabry provided two assists. “There’s the opinion of people outside. And there’s our opinion at the club, and the opinion of his teammates. I think he’s a very underrated player, he doesn’t have many weaknesses.”
It is perhaps telling that Bayern’s only Bundesliga loss of the campaign, against Augsburg, came when Gnabry was unavailable due to illness. For the remainder of this season and beyond, he clearly still has a role to play as both he and his club look to add to their trophy cabinets.
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