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Bayern Munich have appointed Vincent Kompany as the club’s new manager after negotiating his departure from Burnley, it has been announced.
ESPN reported on Saturday that Bayern agreed a £10m deal ($12.7m) for Kompany, who will replace Thomas Tuchel at the Bundesliga giants despite despite being unable to prevent Burnley from being relegated from the Premier League this season.
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The move completes a troubled recruitment process for Bayern who initially announced in February that Tuchel would depart at the end of the season.
Bayern were linked with moves for Bayer Levekusen boss Xabi Alonso and their former manager Julian Nagelsmann before both announced they would be remaining in their jobs with Bayer Leverkusen and the Germany national team, respectively.
They were also in discussions with ex- interim Manchester United manager Ralf Rangnick, but he turned down Bayern decided to continue his role as Austria head coach.
There were then reports that Bayern’s sporting directors Max Eberl and Christoph Freund were negotiating with Tuchel to reverse their joint decision from February. However, Tuchel confirmed before the club’s final game of the season that it would be his last match in charge of the club.
Tuchel’s original contract ran through to 2025, and reports suggested he was looking for an extension through to 2026 if they agreed on him staying.
This follows a turbulent season where Bayern’s 11-season reign as Bundesliga champions was brought to an end by Leverkusen. They were knocked out of the DFB Pokal in the second round to Saarbrücken, and exited the Champions League in the semifinals to Real Madrid.
Still, Kompany’s appointment represents a surprise given the 38-year-old’s limited experience in top-level management and his difficult season with Burnley, in which they recorded just 24 points and five wins from 38 games to finish 19th in the Premier League, eight points from safety.
Bayern will instead be hoping the former Belgium international can rediscover the results that saw him lead Burnley to promotion and the Championship title in his first season in charge at Turf Moor.
A former captain and four-time Premier League title winner with Manchester City, Kompany left Pep Guardiola’s squad in 2019 to begin his managerial career with Anderlecht.
Kompany has experience of the Bundesliga after spending two seasons at Hamburg during his playing career.