Thiago wants Coutinho at Bayern Munich next season

Thiago Alcantara has been one of Bayern Munich’s most consistent performers under Hansi Flick. With Joshua Kimmich deputizing as the holding anchor in midfield, Thiago has been given the freedom to do what he does best: create space, distribute, and carve open opposition defenses with his passes. He’s tallied 3 goals and 2 assists across all competitions this season, but those numbers don’t exactly do his impact justice. Thankfully for Bayern, the midfield maestro said in an interview (SPORT1) that he can picture himself finishing his career in Munich.

Thomas Müller and Alphonso Davies have already signed new contracts with Bayern, and Manuel Neuer, David Alaba, and Thiago are all expected to do so, too. Club president Herbert Hainer already said he truly believes that all of them will extend their contracts because Bayern is the best place for all of them.

At the very least, Thiago sees finishing his career at Bayern as a very real possibility, even if there’s more competition within the squad at some point. “That’s a difficult question,” he said. “A lot of things have to come together for that. You have to be on your level. But it could also happen that the club wants another player type 1.9 meters tall for your position. But yes, Bayern would be a wonderful club [to retire at].”

When his career started, Thiago never imagined playing in Germany: “I’ve been in Munich for eight years now, and I would have never thought I’d play soccer in Germany,” he said. He has plans on moving back to Spain with his family, but not before his playing career is over.

Interestingly, Thiago also had nice things to say about Brazilian teammate Philippe Coutinho. The “little magician” is currently on loan from Barcelona, but his future with Bayern remains in question. The club is unsure whether or not they want to activate the buyout clause in the loan.

If it were up to Thiago, Coutinho would definitely be sticking around. Thiago said, “I know him very well. I’ve seen him playing since he was twelve years old. I played futsal against him in Brazil and liked that a lot.”

Coutinho is a “hard working with unbeatable technique,” Thiago said. Even players like Coutinho go through “good and not so good moments, but he’s giving us a ton. We hope that he’s here next season, too.”

Photo by PressFocus/MB Media/Getty Images

Thiago’s brother, Rafinha, who is on loan from Barcelona at Celta de Vigo, is two years younger than him (27). The prospect of the two brothers playing on the same team again has come up several times before in the past, and it’s something Thiago said he might consider if the right opportunity presents itself: “Of course! We think about it every year. But it’s hard. It would be an honor to play together with one of the best footballers, who also happens to be my brother.” Of course, they were both on Barcelona’s books at the same time back in 2011/12 before Thiago was recruited by Pep Guardiola to come to Bayern in 2013.

Photo by Andreas Gebert/picture alliance via Getty Images