MUNICH (AP) — Leon Goretzka is set to leave Bayern Munich when his contract expires at the end of the season after turning down the chance for a January transfer.
The German midfielder has been with Bayern since 2018, winning the Champions League in 2020, and is chasing a seventh Bundesliga title with the club this season.
“His journey at Bayern will be over in the summer,” Bayern's sporting director Christoph Freund said ahead of the club's Bundesliga game against Hamburger SV on Saturday.
He added the club and Goretzka had held talks over “concrete inquiries” from other teams but that Goretzka wanted to see out the remaining months of his contract because of Bayern's strong form this season.
“As much as I'm honored by interest from international top clubs, I've decided just as clearly that I would like to stay with FC Bayern until the end of the season,” Goretzka posted on Instagram, adding that he wanted to end his eight years with the club with a typical Bayern trophy celebration with fans in Munich's central square.
Goretzka said he felt it was “the right time for me to start a new chapter once again, both as a footballer and as a person," but didn't indicate a potential destination.
Goretzka has played 28 times for Bayern in all competitions this season but only started 16 of those, with coach Vincent Kompany frequently preferring Aleksandar Pavlovic alongside Joshua Kimmich in the center of midfield.
The 30-year-old Goretzka also attracted attention this week for an interview he gave to German newspaper Die Zeit in which he said U.S. President Donald Trump “has managed to make us feel not only German, but also European.”
Goretzka has played 67 times for Germany, including in all of the national team's games as it qualified for this year's World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
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