Bayern Munich have confirmed the signing of Ismael Saibari from PSV Eindhoven, with the German champions paying a reported fixed fee of around €50 million that could rise closer to €55 million with add-ons. The 25-year-old Morocco international has signed a contract running to 30 June 2031 and will wear the number 34 shirt.
The move had been building for weeks and was driven personally by head coach Vincent Kompany, who pushed the club's hierarchy to prioritise Saibari as an attacking addition. Bayern board member Max Eberl said the transfer was "the result of long-term planning" rather than a spur-of-the-moment decision, underlining how closely Bayern had tracked the player before his World Cup form pushed the deal over the line. Saibari said Kompany's involvement was central to his decision to join, adding that Bayern's style of play suits the way he wants to express himself on the pitch.
For PSV, this is a significant loss. Saibari joined the Dutch club in 2020 and became one of the key figures behind three Eredivisie titles, an Eredivisie Cup double and a run of Dutch Super Cups, contributing 42 goals and 29 assists across his time in Eindhoven. He was named the Eredivisie's Player of the Year for the 2025-26 season, and PSV are now assessing internal options such as Noah Fernandez and Paul Wanner, alongside market targets including AZ Alkmaar's Sven Mijnans, to fill the gap he leaves in midfield.
Saibari's stock rose sharply because of his form in both club and international football. In the 2025-26 Eredivisie season he scored 15 goals and added 8 assists in 27 league appearances as PSV retained their title, and he then carried that form into the World Cup with Morocco. He scored in three straight group games, including the fastest goal of the tournament, netted in back-to-back World Cup matches, and struck the winning penalty that sent Morocco past the Netherlands and into the last 16 — a run that made him one of the tournament's most talked-about performers before a hamstring injury forced him to miss the quarter-final.
At Bayern, Saibari is expected to operate as an attacking midfielder capable of playing centrally or drifting from the left, offering Kompany another player comfortable both creating chances and scoring them from midfield areas. His dribbling, direct running and end product give Bayern more variety in the final third, and his signing fits a pattern of Kompany bringing in players who can combine quickly in tight spaces rather than out-and-out wide wingers.
The deal also fits Bayern's broader recruitment approach of moving early for young players who have proven themselves at the top level of a smaller league before a major tournament, rather than waiting for a bidding war once a World Cup finishes. With Saibari now expected to need time to recover fully from his hamstring injury before pushing for regular starts, his early integration into Bayern's pre-season will be worth watching.