Leon Goretzka’s Bayern Munich career did not end as it was supposed to.
The German midfielder, who has signed for Aston Villa on a free transfer, won everything there was to win during his eight years at Allianz Arena. He was a cornerstone of Bayern’s imperial era, during which they won the Bundesliga seven times, the DFB-Pokal three times and the Champions League in 2020.
Goretzka, now 31, was one of the world’s most prominent midfielders during that run. There was even a period, for maybe two or three years, when he might have been considered Europe’s pre-eminent box-to-box midfielder. Physical, destructive, but with excellent attacking instincts and timing that allowed him to complement Bayern’s more technical or tactically adroit players.
But prior to his release this summer, Goretzka had become a player out of time and a symbol of a decadent era. It’s a situation that needs explaining.
In 2021, he signed a highly lucrative, five-year contract. He was one of several players, alongside Serge Gnabry and Kingsley Coman, who tied their future to the club, but who accounted for a sizeable chunk of Bayern’s wage bill.
In time, as his impact lessened, it made Goretzka a target. When he joined in 2018 (moving from Schalke on a free transfer), he was the ideal signing. Thiago Alcantara was still orchestrating Bayern’s midfield, Javi Martinez was anchoring it, and Goretzka provided a set of attributes that the team needed.
However, as the conditions around him changed, that value declined and — increasingly — the focus fell more on his flaws. Goretzka is not a playmaker; he lacks the passing ability and the delicate touch. He is also not the most tactically aware player and cannot be used simply to provide quality.
Instead, at his best, he is a rogue element, stealing into penalty boxes and attacking space, or otherwise turning midfields inhospitable and making opponents uncomfortable. That kind of player always needs the right chemistry around them. Increasingly, he did not. That also meant that as Bayern tried to pivot between eras, the big contract he signed in 2021, which made his sale virtually impossible, recast him as someone who had outstayed his welcome.
The prevailing narrative among his detractors portrayed him as being content to see out a contract that would not be on offer elsewhere. But that’s not really fair. He may have become less relevant to the first team and he may no longer be in his prime, but Goretzka repeatedly fought for his career in recent seasons.
In the summer of 2024, Vincent Kompany arrived at Bayern with a mission to perform an overhaul. Joshua Kimmich would anchor the midfield, Aleksandar Pavlovic had graduated from the academy by then, and Joao Palhinha had joined from Fulham. Those three players would provide the platform for the attacking half of the side, and Goretzka was advised that he should either leave or accept a greatly reduced role.
Goretzka chose to stay. But while his contract may have influenced that decision, his attitude was commendable.
Kompany complimented the midfielder for his professionalism in training and his approach to a humbling situation, and by the turn of the year Goretzka had been reinstated. Bayern reclaimed their Bundesliga title that season, and while Goretzka was not “back” and was not the force he had once been, he had some excellent games domestically and in Europe, even earning a recall to the German national team.
In February 2025, Bayern travelled to Stuttgart to face one of the final hurdles before becoming league champions. It pitted Goretzka, by then a regular in the side again, against Angelo Stiller, who was and remains one of the most regarded German midfielders in the Bundesliga. Goretzka monstered him. He scored, he pressed Stiller into a bad mistake, and Bayern won 3-1.
Goretzka is still a rough-and-tumble player (Alex Grimm/Getty Images)
In the summer of 2025, history repeated. He was again expected to leave — encouraged to, even — but chose to stay. Bayern were an outstanding side in 2025-26. At the beginning of the season, they also signed Tom Bischof. Young and German, with a left foot to die for, Bischof was far more suited to the midfield that Kompany wanted and someone for whom supporters had more enthusiasm. Goretzka played fewer than 200 minutes in the Champions League across the year, and there was never any serious hope of a contract extension.
But he is still a good player. The caveats remain. He is not as physically rambunctious as before, but he can be tremendously effective in the right system, with the right players in support. The Premier League is a rough-and-tumble league. Goretzka is still a rough-and-tumble player who can press well, arrive in the box at the right moments, and win duels.
Signing players on the downslope of their career is a tricky business. Even more so when they have already won everything that club football has to offer. But while Goretzka became less important to Bayern in recent years, he never acted as if that was the case. He always played in the same way, with all the intensity and commitment expected of a serial winner, and generally found a way to be an asset.
Villa have clearly noticed that. Having lost Amadou Onana to a long-term injury, they needed to replicate his physicality, among other abilities. Having sold Ezri Konsa, Youri Tielemans and Lucas Digne this summer, the club also felt the need to sign someone who can help set dressing-room standards and replace some of the seniority and leadership that has now been lost.
To deal with those issues, Goretzka might have been among the best players available. He will be coming to England to play, to compete and, as he has done for his entire career, hopefully to win.
