“A very big step that I wasn’t ready for yet”: Bayern Munich flop looks back on transfer to FCB
Bryan Zaragoza does not regret his move to Bayern Munich despite his continued lack of success, as the Spaniard revealed in an interview with the newspaper AS.
"I would never regret this step. When such a big club come calling, you cannot turn that down. If you tell a young player: you will play for Bayern Munich, then you do not think twice for long," said Zaragoza.
The Spaniard reflected on his rise, which carried him into the top tier of European football in a very short time: "Before that, I was a substitute in the second division, had started the last six matches, had been promoted to the top flight and had just played ten games when Bayern Munich signed me. Something like that does not normally happen. And I do not regret it either, because it changed my life and that of my family for the better."
Zaragoza's move to Munich in January 2024 is now seen as a sporting misfit. The 25-year-old winger does not believe the step up to Säbener Straße proved too big because of any lack of footballing quality.
"There are many factors. I was a 20-year-old who moved to Bayern Munich, one of the best clubs in the world, if not the best. In my position there was Musiala, who for me at the time was the best in the world, and then also Sane, Gnabry, Coman - I could name a thousand more," said Zaragoza, before continuing: "I had just come from the second division, had only played ten games in the first division, and then Bayern Munich came. That is not easy: the language, the climate, the food, leaving my comfort zone. I do not think I was not successful because of my footballing level. I think it was down to the circumstances. It was a very big step in my career, one I was not yet ready for."
Bryan Zaragoza almost moved to Barcelona
His career could have taken a different turn. As Zaragoza recently revealed in an interview with Spanish radio station Cadena SER, a LaLiga heavyweight also wanted to sign him before his move to Germany.
"There really was a possibility that I would move to Barca. There were contacts," he revealed. Interest was sparked by an outstanding first half of the season at Granada, when Zaragoza stood out with, among other things, two goals in the 2-2 against Barcelona in October 2023.
All told, Zaragoza made only seven competitive appearances for Bayern. The club have not found a taker for a permanent move in the past transfer windows, so Zaragoza still has a contract in Munich until 2029.
Since summer 2024, he has been out on loan continuously, to Osasuna, Vigo and Roma. Since the end of August, Zaragoza has been playing for Espanyol Barcelona, where an obligation to buy applies under certain conditions.
