De Cat made his senior debut last season and made seven appearances in all competitions, scoring one goal. He has been playing regularly this season, managing 13 appearances in the Belgian Pro League. In total, he has made 18 appearances in all competitions already. A towering midfielder who loves to dribble, the youngster was included in The Guardian's "Next Generation 2025: 60 of the best young talents in world football", which suggests that the hype surrounding him is not misplaced.
'It's the same with (Erling) Haaland or any player. You have to be winning those major trophies. With the way the season is going with Bayern Munich, it looks like we're in great shape. It looks like we're one of the favourites for the Champions League. It's the same with England. I think we're going to go into the tournament as one of the favourites.'
After losing Leroy Sane and Kingsley Coman, Vincent Kompany made the right decision to keep Gnabry, and the decision has been vindicated. The 30-year-old versatile attacker has rediscovered his form this season and has delivered some eye-catching performances. Gnabry scored four goals and provided three assists in seven starts in the Bundesliga this season, and that is probably why the likes of Liverpool and Juventus are showing interest.
Congatulations to Dayot Upamecano and Michael Olise! FC Bayern's two French internationals booked their ticket for the World Cup finals on Thursday night thanks to France's 4-0 win over Ukraine. The draw for the tournament in the USA, Canada and Mexico will take place on 5 December. England and Harry Kane, who ended Serbia's hopes with a 2-0 win at Wembley on Thursday, will also be in the draw. Here's our round-up of the international action.
FC Bayern Women fought back from 2-0 down at half-time to win 3-2 against holders Arsenal WFC in the UEFA Women's Champions League on Wednesday evening. Under the watchful eyes of president Herbert Hainer, sporting director Christoph Freund and men's team coach Vincent Kompany, the Munich girls trailed early to Emily Fox's fifth-minute goal, before Mariona Caldentey scored a second for the Gunners 18 minutes later.
The event kicked off with a welcome event for players and families. After being welcomed at the FC Bayern Campus, guests were given a tour of the grounds and the Allianz Arena, which for many was their first direct contact with the stadium and the atmosphere of the club. During their time in Munich, the players are staying at FC Bayern's International Youth House, where they are coming together in a new environment not far from Säbener Straße.
"To be honest, I don't know. Maybe this one - it's from the Euros," she says, stroking her skin. "It says HOME, and the H is made up of two Roman I's, II - like the number two. It stands for my second Euros title." A symbol of home, of the connection between origin and success. "It reminds me of where I come from and what's possible if you never stop believing."
Since his breakthrough at Schalke 04, Leon Goretzka has always been an attacking-minded midfielder. His original position to begin his career was a number 10, playing behind the strikers. After developing physically, many coaches started to utilise his already proven offensive prowess and high motor as a box-to-box midfielder. This role has made Leon Goretzka a household name in Bayern's triumphant, treble-winning 2019/20 season. Goretzka was the beneficiary of a high-intensity pressing system that focused on wing play to create chances.
In the summer transfer window, Liverpool and Bayern Munich were linked with a move for the exciting young attacker. Back in July, it was suggested that Bayern were interested in signing the winger, who is valued at around £51.5m (€60m). Fabrizio Romano claimed that Bayern had made contact to sign the attacker, and stated that he could become a 'strong' option for the Bavarian giants if they fail to sign Luis Díaz. However, the interest probably died down after Bayern signed Diaz from Liverpool.
The 28-year-old Colombian was the architect of the home team's demise. He opened the scoring for Bayern in the 4th minute of play and doubled the advantage just past the half-hour mark. However, in the added time of the first half, alarm bells went off in the Bayern camp when Diaz, who had initially been shown a yellow card for a foul on Achraf Hakimi, was eventually given his marching orders after VAR intervention, which upgraded the card to red.
The Bundesliga opener will be played on Friday, 28 August 2026. The league programme will be interrupted by two international breaks (21 September to 6 October and 9 to 17 November) before the German top flight heads into the winter break after Matchday 14 (18-20 December 2026). For the first time, FIFA's adjustment of the break periods will apply:
Ottmar Hitzfeld was a defining character in the recent history of FC Bayern Munich. His induction into the German Football Hall of Fame recognises his extraordinary coaching career. Hitzfeld led FC Bayern to numerous titles, including five Bundesliga championships, three DFB Cup victories and, above all, the Champions League triumph in 2001. His calm, level-headed manner and strategic vision made him one of the most successful and popular coaches to have worked at Säbener Straße.
Fisnik Asllani has a similar playstyle to Harry Kane, a deep-lying forward archetype who likes to drop into the midfield and wider areas to create for his teammates with his passes and vision. He is good at playing with his back to the goal and is also a very skilful dribbler. Asllani also has a knack for scoring goals. He can score from everywhere and however in the opponent's final third.
They named Dayot Upamecano (28.3%), Joshua Kimmich (69.1%), Jamal Musiala (59.7%), Harry Kane (77.5%) and Michael Olise (43.5%) in the Team of the Season, plus summer signing Jonathan Tah (54.5%) from his Bayer Leverkusen days. The team was completed by Granit Xhaka (Bayer Leverkusen, 28.3%), Nadiem Amiri (Mainz, 36.1%), Florian Wirtz (Bayer Leverkusen, 84.8%), Finn Dahmen (Augsburg, 28.3%) and Nico Schlotterbeck (Borussia Dortmund, 45.0%).
