Bayern Munich sign Saki Kumagai from Olympique Lyon

Bayern Munich have signed Japanese international Saki Kumagai on a two-year contract.

“We are very happy to have convinced Saki of our project. She brings unbelievable international experience and will play an important role in our team’s further development,” Bayern Frauen sporting director Bianca Rech said.

In 2020, Kumagai was shortlisted for FIFA World Player of the Year, and she was named Asian Footballer of the year in 2019.

“I am extremely happy that Saki has chosen us. We had very good conversations with her, in which we were able to convince her of our association, our department and our path,” head coach Jens Scheuer said. “Saki is an incredibly ball-safe, defensive midfielder who plays in the national team also in central defense. So, she is very flexible, which is an additional advantage for us.”

The veteran midfielder is one of the most decorated East Asian players of all time. At the club level, she’s won Japan’s Nadeshiko League once, France’s Division 1 Féminine seven times (and could add an eighth this year), the Coupe de France six times, and the UEFA Women’s Champions League five times. Internationally with Japan, she’s lifted the AFC Women’s Asian Cup once, the FIFA Women’s World Cup once, and picked up a silver medal at the Summer Olympics.