Kompany swaps relegated Burnley for mighty Bayern

The 38-year-old former Manchester City captain arrives at Bayern tasked with overseeing a turnaround after his predecessor, Thomas Tuchel, led the team only to a third-place finish in the Bundesliga, 18 points off champions Bayer Leverkusen.

Bayern said Kompany had signed a three-year contract. Kompany was Burnley's manager in the English Premier League and won praise for his team's attractive style despite relegation this past season. He had been under contract at Burnley until 2028 and there was no immediate confirmation of the size of the release fee.

Kompany said he saw the Bayern job as a welcome challenge and signalled he would bring the same tactical philosophy to Germany. "I love to have the ball, to be creative," he said in a Bayern statement.

Even though he arrives at a low point for Bayern, Kompany will still be expected to win trophies and potentially reach the 2025 Champions League final, which is to be played at Bayern's own Allianz Arena.

Kompany's appointment is one of the most prominent roles for a Black coach in European soccer in recent years.

"Whilst we were initially confident in retaining our manager, the changing dynamics of the situation made this impossible," Burnley said in a statement.

"We understand the allure and prestige of a club like Bayern Munich and respect Vincent's ambition to explore new opportunities. We wish only the best for Vincent and would like to put on record our appreciation for his dedication every single day he was a part of this football club."

The announcement ends a search that took more than three months since the club said in February that Tuchel would leave at the end of the season.

Kompany was far from Bayern's top choice and his record last season with Burnley is hardly typical of a new coach for the 33-time German championship-winning team.

Rejections from Leverkusen's Xabi Alonso, Germany's Julian Nagelsmann and Austria's Ralf Rangnick shook a club who are used to getting their way.

Running out of options, Bayern tried, and failed, to persuade Tuchel to stay after all, even though he led the team to ther first season without a trophy since 2012.

This season ended an 11-year run of consecutive Bundesliga titles for Bayern. A narrow loss to Real Madrid in the Champions League semi-finals partly redeemed the campaign, but Tuchel's tenure ended on a low note with a 4-2 loss to Hoffenheim in his last league game.

Australian Associated Press