Transfer to Bayern failed
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Central defender Jonathan Tah does not hold the Bayer Leverkusen management’s failed move to FC Bayern against him. However, the 28-year-old also stressed in an interview with the “Süddeutsche Zeitung” that he will not extend his contract with the German champions from the Rhine. It is valid until June 30, 2025. His decision is just as clear as it was before.
But he will “certainly not point the finger at this club, to which I owe so much. And I also really appreciate that they have now changed their minds. That it is obviously important to them that I stay, for sporting and human reasons. That is a nice feeling,” explained Tah.
Collapsed Bayern transfer: Tah also sees a share in himself
The national player would have liked to move to Munich in the summer. However, Bayern and Bayer were unable to agree on financial terms, and the price tag of around 30 million euros was apparently too high for the Munich team. Tah does not believe that the headlines surrounding his hoped-for but then-failed move to the record champions could become a burden in the current season.
“I’ve heard a lot of positive things from the fans, and no one from the team has looked at me strangely either – I really appreciate that,” said Tah. “And when I just said that I would have liked everything to be a bit more rational and less emotional, then that applies to me too. I still have a contract until 2025, and until then I will give everything for Leverkusen.”
Tah revealed that he wanted to change clubs because a football career is short and he wants to get the most out of it. “And in the summer I had the feeling: now is the time to look at something new.” At Bayer 04, the Hamburg native had made his desire for change clear and open. After that, it was up to the negotiating clubs to find an agreement. Such a process is accompanied by wild speculation, said European Championship participant Tah. “In the end, the player suffers,” said the defender, who also spoke of offers from other clubs.
The Werkself bosses approached him after the 2023/24 season with the message that he had to make a choice. “So I had to decide: extend my contract or leave the club. That was the starting point. And then came my part: I informed the club that I would not extend my contract,” revealed Tah.
