Josip Stanišić on why he left Bayern Munich

Josip Stanišić has had some of the best individual performances of any Bayern Munich player in recent years. However, things haven’t gone perfectly for the Croatian defender in Bavaria thus far. Bayern Munich eventually gave him a loan, and Stanišić seems happy to take that option in Leverkusen.

As to why he left, you can’t put the blame on Stanišić. While he never found consistent performances in Munich, he never found consistent game time either. While he did have extended runs while other defenders were out due to injury, he never earned his spot.

Following a successful start, Bayern went on to sign Noussair Mazraoui in the same position and also loaned Joao Cancelo as well. So much for developing Stanišić. Now that Cancelo is gone, it was looking optimistic for the Croatian but after Bayern Munich continue to favor a player who is actively looking to leave the club (Benjamin Pavard), Bayern aren not going to give him that chance.

As it turns out, Stanišić was told he is going to need a loan if he wants to develop, so he took his talents to one of the best teams in the Bundesliga. A potentially great move for Stanišić, but a risky one. Bayer Leverkusen plays star Jeremie Frimpong at the position — and Xabi Alonso favors a right wing-back over a true right-back. Time will tell if there is indeed a role for him after all in Leverkusen.