Serge Gnabry's Role at Bayern Munich: A New Chapter at 30

Serge Gnabry spent the summer of 2025 rewriting his Bayern Munich story. He turned 30 on 14 July, walked back into Säbener Straße as a man the club had been willing to sell, and left pre-season as Vincent Kompany’s No. 10. Not a squad player. A starter.

The twist? He did not so much win the role as inherit a vacuum.

Harry Kane, Michael Olise and Luis Diaz were untouchable in Kompany’s 4-2-3-1. The other attacking slot, the space between the lines, was suddenly wide open and short on candidates. Jamal Musiala was still months away from returning after his fibula fracture. Lennart Karl was an exciting academy product, but nobody in Munich had planned for him to explode quite so quickly. Nicolas Jackson only arrived on Deadline Day and then needed weeks just to find his feet.

So by autumn, the equation was blunt: Gnabry or nothing.

Kompany backed the veteran. In the biggest games, Gnabry’s name sat on the teamsheet far more often than not. Karl grew into a genuine option, Jackson was handed chances he mostly squandered, and Musiala finally returned in January. Yet when Bayern needed control and experience behind Kane, the coach kept coming back to Gnabry.

Musiala’s battle on and off the pitch

Now the landscape has shifted again. Kane, Olise and Diaz remain locked in as the front three pillars, but the fourth attacking place has become the most contested role at the club.

Musiala, Gnabry, Karl and €50 million signing Ismael Saibari all have a realistic claim. With Bayern facing a brutal schedule across competitions, Kompany will have to rotate heavily. The question is no longer who can play there, but who he will trust when the season’s defining nights arrive.

On paper, this was supposed to be Musiala’s position to lose. He wears the No. 10 shirt, earns like a leading man and was earmarked as the face of Bayern’s future. Right now, he is anything but that.

Since his January comeback, the 23-year-old has struggled to rediscover his old rhythm. After a flat World Cup, he underwent surgery to have a metal plate removed from his foot. His stuttering form has been compounded by worrying scenes in pre-season: collapses during friendlies against RB Leipzig and 1. FC Heidenheim triggered serious concerns over whether he can withstand the relentless physical and mental demands at the very top.

Doctors have now diagnosed absence epilepsy. Neurologist Dr Regina Becker told SPOX that, in principle, a professional career remains entirely compatible with the condition. The diagnosis does not automatically spell the end of elite football.

Musiala has no intention of stepping away. In a widely shared Instagram statement, he made clear he wants to keep going, stressing that in close consultation with experts, it is his personal wish to face the challenge and, with medical clearance, continue living his everyday life and pursue his passion for playing football.

The fight for the No. 10 shirt, though, will not wait for him.

Saibari seizes the early initiative

While Musiala wrestles with form and health, Gnabry and Karl have been on their own recovery paths. Both missed the World Cup with muscle injuries, spending much of pre-season working individually. They are now back in team training, edging towards full involvement.

There is a chance they make the squad for Saturday’s Super Cup against Borussia Dortmund. If not then, Bayern expect them to be fully available for the Bundesliga opener against VfB Stuttgart the following Friday at the latest. Their return adds experience and youthful spark to a position already under the microscope.

Saibari, though, has stolen a march.

Fresh from an eye-catching World Cup with Morocco, the 25-year-old initially had to pause with a torn muscle fibre. Now he is flying again. In his first two friendly outings for Bayern he looked sharp, decisive on the ball and physically ready. He underlined that impression with an assist in the 3-1 win over Leipzig.

Right now, compared with Musiala, Gnabry and Karl, Saibari is simply the fittest. That alone gives him a crucial edge as the season starts. In a squad packed with stars, availability can be as valuable as reputation.

The kids knocking, the door only half-open

Behind this quartet, another story has been bubbling under the surface.

Loan returnee Arijon Ibrahimovic and academy prospects Tim Binder and Maycon Cardozo used pre-season to show they belong in the conversation, at least on the fringes. All three produced moments that turned heads on the training pitches and in friendlies. For any of them, Karl’s rapid rise last year serves as a template: impress when the established names are missing, then force the club to rethink its depth chart.

This time, though, the path looks steeper. Bayern’s attacking pool is deeper and more seasoned than it was 12 months ago. With Kane, Olise, Diaz, Musiala, Gnabry, Karl and now Saibari all in the mix, the room for a surprise breakthrough has shrunk.

The opportunity is smaller, but it is still there. One injury, one loss of form, one brave selection from Kompany – and the hierarchy can change overnight.

For now, the stage belongs to the four men circling that last attacking spot. Gnabry, reborn at 30. Musiala, fighting for his status and his rhythm. Karl, the fearless teenager. Saibari, the new arrival with the early lead.

Someone will have to sit. Someone will have to wait. And when the season hits its decisive stretch, Kompany will discover which of them truly belongs at the heart of Bayern Munich’s next great side.