“That’s just nice!” Why Sacha Boey made a completely unexpected appearance for Bayern Munich

Sacha Boey has long since been deemed surplus to requirements at Bayern Munich. Yet, completely unexpectedly, he made an unplanned first appearance of the season against RB Leipzig.

Even in the emphatic 6-1 win over the Saxons, there were no plans to play the Frenchman. Sporting director Max Eberl admitted as much after the match. But with a Champions League blockbuster against Arsenal coming up next Wednesday and Min-Jae Kim picking up a knock during the game, Boey finally got his chance.

"Min-jae had a few problems, so he had to come off. Sacha gives 100 per cent in training. He throws himself into it," said Eberl, pointing to the full-back's "extremely difficult" situation at the German record champions: "Now he was there. The coach rewarded him for his performances in training. And that's nice."

A permanent Bayern Munich exit had looked likely for Boey in the summer. He had already spent the second half of last season on loan at his former club Galatasaray. But Galatasaray did not exercise the reported €15 million purchase option.

Why is Sacha Boey no longer playing a part at Bayern Munich?

Bayern Munich paid a hefty €30 million to sign him from the reigning Turkish champions in January 2024. Since then, he has become one of the club's biggest transfer flops in recent history.

Konrad Laimer has established himself on the right flank, with Josip Stanisic currently his backup. Stanisic hasn't made a good start to the season, but he remains clearly ahead of Boey. On the left, Alphonso Davies and new signing Nathaniel Brown share the minutes. And Boey? In the summer, Bayern even "removed" him from team training for a time and left him to keep fit individually because a transfer still seemed possible.

Shortly before the transfer window closed, rumours emerged of a possible move to Hamburger SV, while Fulham were also said to have made an enquiry. "Sacha is fit, but in consultation with Vinnie [Kompany] and Sacha, we decided that he would train individually because there are currently some talks taking place," sporting director Christoph Freund said, explaining Boey's treatment at the time.

Will Sacha Boey leave Bayern Munich in the winter?

The move never materialised, and Boey returned to team training. Until Saturday, those sessions at Säbener Straße were the only chance the 26-year-old had to show what he could do of late. Then, in the 77th minute against RB Leipzig, he made his first appearance of the season.

Kompany could also have turned to the similarly seldom-used Hiroki Ito, Jonathan Tah or Alphonso Davies. But he rested Tah and Davies entirely with the 6-0 lead and next Wednesday's Champions League home match against Arsenal in mind.

Boey may even have played his last game for Bayern Munich. He had made Kompany's Bundesliga matchday squad for only the second time, and reports say Bayern Munich want to move him on in the winter at all costs. His contract runs until 2028. Bayern Munich will probably accept a huge financial loss to remove Boey from the wage bill for good.

Sacha Boey: performance data and statistics