Portugal international Raphaël Guerreiro was announced by Bayern Munich on Friday, joining the German champions from Borussia Dortmund on a three-year deal.
Guerreiro was out of contract this summer and upon his presentation in Munich, the Seleção man was clearly delighted to have put pen to paper at the Allianz Arena after six seasons with Dortmund.
“I will do everything to win titles,” he told the club’s media. “I know it’s the philosophy of the club and I will give everything.
“It’s a big club and of course if I have the opportunity to be in a big team, I’ll take it immediately.
“For me it’s really exciting to play for Bayern Munich because I know how I am as a player, and I want to be on a team which has possession. I know Bayern is a top club for that.
“I’m someone who wants the ball all the time and I’m on the move all the time because that’s how I see football: if you don’t move you cannot create chances.
“The coach (Thomas Tuchel) called me and of course I appreciate him a lot. I was with him at Dortmund and it was really important for me to have him on the phone. Because of that I took my decision really fast.”
#ServusRapha ?
— FC Bayern München (@FCBayern) June 23, 2023
Ablösefreier Neuzugang: #FCBayern nimmt Raphaël Guerreiro unter Vertrag. ?⚪
Guerreiro’s departure will be a blow to Dortmund, who have already lost star midfielder Jude Bellingham to Real Madrid. Guerreiro and Dortmund had appeared on the brink of winning the Bundesliga title in May, only to draw at home with Mainz on the final day, allowing Bayern to continue their dominance with an 11th straight league title.
“Raphaël Guerreiro has been among the best and most consistent players in the Bundesliga for years,” said Bayern CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen. “He’s versatile and internationally experienced and fits perfectly into our team as both a character and player. We’re very happy that we’ve been able to sign him and that he’ll be wearing the FC Bayern shirt in the future. The coach and we as management are in agreement that he will undoubtedly enhance our game.”
Curiously, Bayern has little track record with Portuguese. Guerreiro becomes the 4th Luso player to turn out for the club, the most recent being João Cancelo who spent the second half of last season on loan. Renato Sanches made a big-money move in 2016 after Portugal’s Euro 2016 triumph, while Diago Dantas had a brief stay in the 2020-21 season.
By Sean Gillen
@SeanGillen9
