Bild exclusive: Unsure why Kimmich hesitated, Bayern officially withdraws contract extension offer

According to a joint report by Bild editor-in-chief Christian Falk and deputy editor-in-chief Tobias Altschäfer, Bayern Munich has officially withdrawn its contract extension offer for Joshua Kimmich.

Joshua Kimmich, 30, came from the youth training of Stuttgart and joined Bayern from RB Leipzig for 8.5 million euros in July 2015. He mainly plays as a defensive midfielder and right back in Bayern Munich. So far, he has made 426 appearances, scored 43 goals and made 114 assists. He has won 1 Champions League, 1 Club World Cup, 8 Bundesliga titles, 1 European Super Cup, 3 German Cups and 6 German Super Cups with the team.

Now, Kimmich's contract renewal prospects have suddenly changed. His current contract with Bayern will expire in June 2025. After months of negotiations, the two sides were close to reaching an agreement last week. According to Christian Falk and Bias Altschäfer, Bayern originally planned to offer Kimmich a contract extension slightly higher than the current salary, increasing his annual salary from 20 million euros before tax to 22 million euros. Kimmich will also become the third highest-paid player in the team, second only to Jamal Musiala and Harry Kane.

Bayern sporting director Max Eberl even promised that Kimmich would take over as captain from Manuel Neuer in the future.

However, Bayern decided to withdraw Kimmich's contract extension offer after a supervisory board meeting on Monday and officially informed him that the previous contract proposal had expired. The management did not understand why Kimmich had delayed making a decision, so they were unwilling to discuss the contract details and hoped to clarify the player's stay as soon as possible.

Although the two sides have not terminated the negotiations, it is still questionable whether Kimmich can regain the same contract renewal conditions. The possibility of him and Bayern finally reaching an agreement has further decreased this week, and the level of interest in him is still unclear. According to Maximilian Koch, no top club has made a specific offer for Kimmich.