Bayern Munich rumored to be considering Korean stop this summer

Bayern Munich's Kim Min-jae warms up before a match against Darnmstadt in Munich, Germany on Oct. 28, 2023. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

Reigning Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich are rumored to be considering a visit to Korea this summer.

According to a social media post from iMiaSanMia, a fan account unaffiliated with Bayern but known as a good source for information on the club, the German side is planning to travel to Korea and China this summer.

An industry source also shared a similar rumor with the Korea JoongAng Daily.

As the home of Korean defender Kim Min-jae, Bayern would be an obvious choice to visit Korea this summer.

The past two years have seen both Son Heung-min’s Tottenham Hotspur and Lee Kang-in’s Paris Saint-Germain stop in the country — as well as failed attempts to bring Hwang Hee-chan’s Wolverhampton Wanderers, Napoli, then the home of Kim, and Mallorca, then the home of Lee.

Both Tottenham and PSG’s visits were organized as part of the Coupang Play Series, an annual exhibition series organized by Korean streaming service Coupang Play that has also brought Sevilla, Atletico Madrid and Manchester City to the country.

Coupang Play have shown an obvious preference for teams with Korean players, and Kim’s status as not only one of the top Korean players in the world, but also one of the top center-backs, would make Bayern an obvious choice. The fact that the club is also home to Korean fan favorite Harry Kane and big names like Leroy Sane, Thomas Muller and Joshua Kimmich would only add to the appeal.

Another possible pick this year could be Wolves, who failed to visit last year after a different promoter failed to make the required payments. The Premier League club is home to Hwang, who is currently enjoying a banner season as one of the league’s top scorers.

Scottish side Celtic, home to both Oh Hyeon-gyu and Yang Hyun-jun, were also supposed to visit last year on the same failed deal as Wolves.

Whether Bayern are actually visiting or not will likely be confirmed in the next month or two. In 2022, Coupang Play announced that Tottenham would be coming for the inaugural Coupang Play Series in February, whilst Man City and Atletico were not confirmed until April last year.

BY JIM BULLEY [jim.bulley@joongang.co.kr]