The two new signings Raphaël Guerreiro and Konrad Laimer are officially members of the FC Bayern family from today 1 July. The majority of fans of the German record champions may well be familiar with the two experienced Bundesliga players from their time in Germany at Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig respectively. fcbayern.com brings you the stats that show how the duo have played their way into the limelight over the recent past few years.
Guerreiro: Tireless, versatile, a goal threat
The dynamo Guerreiro: The Portugal international made 224 appearances for BVB in his seven seasons at the club – more than any other Dortmund player over that timescale. In addition, mostly as a defender, Guerreiro was involved in a total of 82 goals (40 goals, 42 assists) after his move to the Black and Yellows. That has only been surpassed at BVB since the summer of 2016 by the strikers Marco Reus (139), Jadon Sancho (107) and Erling Haaland (105).
At FCB with top numbers: Guerreiro had his best season with Borussia last term and he was directly involved in 20 (six goals, 14 assists) of BVB's 101 strikes (19.8%) – the only other player at last season's Bundesliga runners-up to achieve that was Jude Bellingham (also 20).
Top provider in the Bundesliga: Guerreiro was the best provider in the Bundesliga last season with twelve assists, which also is a personal best. In the top five leagues in Europe, only Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City), Lionel Messi (Paris Saint-Germain) and Antoine Griezmann (Atlético Madrid) have set up more goals (16 each) than the 29-year-old.
Classic allrounder: The versatile Portuguese player mainly played at left-back in 29 out of/36 appearances last season. But he also played in central midfield six times and once on the left flank. When Thomas Tuchel was Guerreiro's coach at Dortmund in 2016/17, he most often played him in central midfield (17 times) plus eleven times on the left side of midfield and seven at left-back.
Laimer: Everywhere, combative, with cup expertise
Available everywhere: Konrad Laimer made 190 appearances in his six seasons at RB Leipzig, scoring 15 goals and providing 18 assists. But he did play in a number of positions. The right-footer mostly played for RB in central (85 times) or defensive midfield (40 times). At the beginning, he was mostly used as a right-back (24 times) and later on the right side of midfield (14 times) but he also helped out on the opposite flank (11 games on the left side of midfield). In possibly the most important game in Leipzig's history, the Champions League semi-final against Paris St Germain in 2020, he played one game as a right winger. Laimer has also played as a number ten behind the strikers for Austria – almost unbeatable versatility.
Shirks no challenges: The 26-year-old made (13.9) and won (7.2) more challenges in the 2022/23 Bundesliga campaign on average per 90 minutes than any other RB Leipzig player (with at least 500 minutes on the pitch).
Cup competitions as his favourite: During his three seasons at Red Bull Salzburg (2014 – 17) Laimer won the Austrian Cup three times – each with a double by the Austrian team. He continued his love for this competition in Germany: The allrounder has reached the final of the DFB Cup at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin four times and he was able to lift the cup twice (2022 and 2023).
Tradition continues: In all probability, Konrad Laimer will be the tenth Austrian to date to play for FC Bayern in the Bundesliga – following on from Marcel Sabitzer (2021-2023), David Alaba (2010-2021), Marco Friedl (2017-2018), Ylli Sallahi (2014), Stefan Maierhofer (2006), Andreas Herzog (1995-1996), Harald Cerny (1992-1994), Peter Pumm (1968-1971) and August Starek (1968-1970).
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