New details on Bayern Munich’s summer meeting with Benjamin Pavard

It’s no secret that Bayern Munich had met with Benjamin Pavard and some of his representatives in Russia during the World Cup. Sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic met with Pavard and his agent, Johan Mohan, to discuss bringing the defender to Bayern before the summer of 2019, when he has a €35-million buyout clause in his current contract with Stuttgart.

Michael Reschke, Stuttgart’s sporting director maintained that Pavard was set on staying put for the time being despite Bayern’s effort’s to try and get the defender before next summer.

New details from Suddeutsche Zeitung (as reported by Bild) have now come to lightregarding the meeting that took place during the World Cup. Per the report, Bayern’s legal director, Dr. Michael Gerlinger also met with Pavard separately from the meeting between Mohan and Salihamidzic. The suggestion is that Gerlinger met with Pavard to hash out terms for the 22-year-old to agree to come to Bayern for €35 million after it was understood that he had decided to stay with Stuttgart for the 2018-2019 season.

Over the summer, Bayern were also weighing the potential departure of Jerome Boateng, who’d been linked with a move to Pairs Saint-Germain. Pavard would have been a replacement of sorts if Boateng had left. Hence Bayern fancied the idea of getting him to agree to join already for the 2018-2019 season. On the plus side, since Boateng stayed, Bayern can now easily activate Pavard’s release clause next summer and avoid having to pay what likely would’ve been an inflated fee to sign him from Stuttgart earlier.

As news of Gerlinger’s meeting with Pavard suggests, it appears as if initial arrangements for next summer have already been made for Pavard’s move to Bayern. Given the way Stuttgart having been playing this season, next summer can’t come soon enough for the World Cup winner.