Ismael Saibari aims to help FC Bayern not only with his athletic skills. The summer signing also wants to take on responsibility off the field and develop into a key figure within the team—a role that, for many years in Munich, has been filled primarily by Thomas Müller.
In an interview with Bayern’s club magazine “51,” Saibari spoke about the responsibilities he had already taken on at PSV Eindhoven. There, the attacking player served as a bridge between different groups within the team.
This was also due to his language skills. Saibari speaks English, French, Spanish, Arabic, and Dutch, which allowed him to help new players in particular settle in more easily.
But for the 25-year-old, it was about more than just translating. Saibari wanted to give his younger teammates the same support he’d received at the start of his own professional career.
“When I moved up from the youth team to the pros, there were players who looked out for me. Later on, I wanted to help the young players. They shouldn’t put pressure on themselves—they should just play their game and enjoy it.”
Saibari voluntarily took on the responsibility
The Moroccan also played an important role with new signings at PSV. He didn’t need a request from the coaching staff or team management to do so. “I also enjoyed taking care of the new signings, simply because I speak several languages. I helped them when they needed something and translated during meetings. Nobody had to ask me to do that—I did it on my own,” Saibari explained.
It is precisely these kinds of personalities that are particularly valuable, especially in teams with an international roster. At FC Bayern, Thomas Müller was one of the central figures for many years when it came to integrating new or young players into the team and familiarizing them with the club’s unique culture.
The club magazine drew a parallel between Saibari and the longtime Bayern veteran. The new signing made it clear how important he considers such unifying figures to be within a team.
“Someone like that is always very important.”
“Someone like that is always very important. When you join a new club, you first have to get to know the routines and the mindset. Of course, it helps when someone can explain everything to you. Someone who, after you make a mistake, says, ‘No problem, try it this way.’ When you have someone like that by your side, you feel more at ease mentally.”
Saibari himself could grow into such a role with the German record champions in the future. His multilingualism and his experience from Eindhoven provide a solid foundation for this.
This is explicitly not about replacing Müller one-to-one on the field. Rather, Saibari could take on part of the role that made the longtime Bayern star so valuable within the locker room: as a point of contact, mediator, and source of support for new and young players.
On the field, Saibari still needs to fully establish himself in Munich. Off the field, however, the new signing already seems to have a clear vision of how he wants to contribute to FC Bayern in the long term.