Things are more or less out of Bounou’s control regarding his potential move to Bayern from Sevilla.
Yassine Bounou was one of the names on Bayern Munich’s list when the club said they needed to recruit a goalkeeper in the summer transfer window.
The delay in Manuel Neuer’s return due to injury makes this an urgent matter, as it is clear that they need a replacement goalkeeper with Alexander Nübel and Yann Sommer leaving the club.
Ultimately, the idea shifted from signing a replacement for Neuer to finding a replacement for Sven Ulreich, with Bayern unable to sign some of the big goalkeepers they were linked with.
Internally, knowing that Neuer would eventually return to the top spot, they reinvested their faith and trust in Ulreich as number one, and signed Daniel Peretz from Maccabi Tel Aviv to replace him.
Bounourely recently explained in some detail why he moved to Al-Hilal in Saudi Arabia from Sevilla instead of Bayern, making it clear that things were truly out of his control..
Bayern have yet to decide specifically on their final plans regarding the goalkeeper’s decision, which doesn’t make things any easier for Sevilla or Bounou.
“Bayern has contacted Sevilla.
They asked me to wait and told me they would send an offer.
But in the meantime, other names were circulating.
There was a time when I understood that Bayern were just looking for a loan,” the Moroccan goalkeeper explained to El Pelotazo (via @iMiaSanMia).
At the time, Kepa Arrizabalaga was preparing to leave Chelsea for Bayern, but Thibaut Courtois’ injury at Real Madrid forced the La Liga giants to dive into the transfer market to find a long-term replacement for him.
When they called Kepa, it was an offer the Spaniard couldn’t refuse.
Unfortunately for Bayern, this sapped their potential and left Bounou waiting in the wings.
The Moroccan goalkeeper added that while waiting for an official offer from Rekordmeister, Al-Hilal’s offer also came.
“Unfortunately, the clubs don’t want to spend any more, it’s difficult.
It’s difficult to spend money on 32-year-old players like me, whether it’s for Bayern or any other team.
At that time, I was waiting and the offer from Al-Hilal came,” he recalls.
Finally, Bounou completed a move to Al-Hilal from Sevilla for a fee of 21 million euros on a three-year contract with the Saudi Pro League club.
The club have also secured the signing of Neymar Jr.
from Paris Saint-Germain shortly after acquiring Bounou.