Welcome to FC Bayern, Douglas Costa and Joshua Kimmich! The two new signings were officially unveiled on the occasion of the Allianz Team Presentation on Saturday. “I'm very happy and proud to wear the Bayern shirt,” said Brazilian striker Costa after taking the stage for the press conference with Kimmich and sporting director Matthias Sammer at 2 pm. “I’m fulfilling a dream. I want to thank the club for the trust shown in me.”
20-year-old talent Kimmich revealed he “could not believe it” at first when he heard of the Reds' interest in him the last season. “It's a great honour for me to play for this club. It's a new world for me,” said the Germany U-21 international. Now the focus is on integrating as soon as possible and getting to know his new team-mates: “I'm looking forward to it.”
Sammer called Kimmich an “absolute team player.” The youngster is also very skilled in passing. “You have to be careful when using superlatives. Nobody can tell when he’ll make the breakthrough. But we're more than convinced that he will,” said the sporting director. Costa is a step ahead, of course – the Brazilian comes to Munich as an international with Champions League experience.
Warm welcome
The 24-year-old is “quick, agile, creative and very valuable and impressive in one-on-one situations. We had an exact profile of what we required and very quickly came to consider him.” However, Sammer stressed that Costa needed to “acclimatise first. We’ll give him time for this.” On Friday the Brazilian completed his first training session as a Bayern player, and on Saturday he received his jersey with the number 11 – Kimmich will wear 32.
The entire team “warmly welcomed” him, reported Costa. “That makes it much easier of course. Many of the world's best players are here. They’re big idols for me.” Now Costa wants to contribute to the club’s success and “clinch as many titles as possible.” It all starts now – for Douglas Costa, for Joshua Kimmich and for FC Bayern!
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