Joshua Kimmich’s new monstrous salary to keep him near the top of Bayern Munich’s wage structure

Bayern sure likes to keep its influential players happy.

The Joshua Kimmich contract saga at Bayern Munich looks as though it is finally nearing its resolve as the player is set to sign a new contract with an increased salary over the coming week.

Details surrounding the contract have been revealed by Sky reporter Florian Plettenberg, which includes a salary at around 20 million Euros per year, compared to the 19.5 million Euros he earns on his current deal. This will allow Kimmich to retain his current position as Bayern’s third-best paid player (excluding bonuses), behind the likes of Harry Kane and Manuel Neuer.

To make a case for anyone actually deserving such an obscene sum of wealth would be absurd. It is reasonable, however, to say that Kimmich both deserves to be well rewarded for the work he does at Bayern and that he should be one of the highest earners in the squad.

Kimmich is at the heart of everything Bayern does, effectively maintaining possession and dictating play from the center of the Record Champions’ midfield. Compared to other players of a similar position in the top five leagues, Kimmich is in the 99th percentile for touches and key passes, and 97th for carries into the final third (FBREF).

This is a player that Bayern needs to keep at the club, and doing so while he’s in the prime of his career with a minimal pay increase seems an excellent decision from those handling the renewal of Kimmich’s contract.