Ismael Saibari joined FC Bayern this summer. Max Eberl now reveals the role Vincent Kompany played in the Moroccan’s signing.
Ismael Saibari was one of FC Bayern’s top transfer targets last summer. The Munich club paid PSV Eindhoven approximately 50 million euros for the Moroccan national team player. Now Max Eberl has provided new insights into how the 25-year-old’s transfer got started.
Vincent Kompany played a decisive role in this. As Eberl revealed in an interview with Sport BILD, Bayern had actually had Saibari on their radar for quite some time. However, after a face-to-face meeting, their interest became much more concrete.
“We’d been monitoring his development in Eindhoven for quite some time,” Eberl explained. Of particular interest: Last summer, Bayern apparently had two different transfer strategies for their offense.
Newcastle United’s Anthony Gordon was also on Munich’s radar. However, a transfer of the Englishman was ruled out for financial reasons. “It’s no secret that we also looked into Anthony Gordon for the left wing. But we made a conscious decision not to pursue him because he was simply too expensive. At the time, we had two strategies in mind: either Gordon or Saibari.”
Kompany spoke personally with Saibari
Bayern’s interest in Saibari gained further momentum after a Champions League match against Eindhoven. Kompany took the opportunity at the time to have a personal conversation with the midfielder.
Eberl still remembers the subsequent conversation with the Bayern coach clearly: “After our Champions League game in Eindhoven, Vinnie spoke with Ismael. Afterward, he came up to me and asked, ‘Do we know him already?’ My answer was, ‘Yes, we do.’”
After that, however, the Munich club didn’t immediately step up their efforts in the transfer market; instead, they took a closer look at Saibari first. “We continued to monitor him closely afterward and ultimately signed him in the summer,” Eberl reported.
This means Bayern spent nearly a year closely evaluating Saibari before they actually completed the transfer. The fact that Kompany personally reached out to the future new signing early on underscores just how convinced the Belgian was of his qualities.
Saibari’s versatility was ultimately a key reason for the signing. The Moroccan can play multiple positions in midfield and on offense, making him a good fit for the flexible lineup Kompany wanted for the Bayern squad.
What began as a brief conversation after a Champions League match thus gradually developed into a transfer for which the Munich club dug deep into its pockets last summer.