Irankunda: How the 17-year-old sensation was snapped up by Bayern
For all his fireworks on the pitch, Nestory Irankunda was understated as he faced a packed media room in Adelaide for the first time as a future Bayern Munich player on Wednesday. When asked whether he was up for the challenge of playing for the Bundesliga giants, the 17-year-old replied quietly, “I think so”. The teenage sensation’s remarkable journey from a refugee camp in Tanzania to one of the biggest clubs in the world has captured the imagination of Australian football – and beyond. The move, which he will make in July next year, is the culmination of 12 months of negotiations, while the deal offers millions of dollars for his local club and is a model for economic opportunity for the A-Leagues.
The Adelaide United star’s timidity in front of cameras from every network in the city was in stark contrast to his feats on the field, which have drawn interest from around the world. He has scored nine goals for his club, the most ever in the league by a teenager. Each goal has been marked by signature acrobatics. Irankunda has signed a four-year contract with Bayern, but will only join the club in July, the first transfer window after his 18th birthday in February. Adelaide chief executive, Nathan Kosmina, said his club fielded approaches from clubs in all five of Europe’s top leagues.
“Not many players at his age have the hype reel and the success that he’s had,” Kosmina said. The initial fee is less than the $5.5m that has been widely discussed, and actually falls short of the A-League transfer record paid by Celtic for Marco Tilio earlier this year – reported at just under $3m.
However it includes incentives for Irankunda’s performances with Bayern, and a sell-on clause that means a subsequent transfer is likely to exceed the initial return. Kosmina said the choice of Bayern was in part driven by their commitment to supporting Irankunda’s career, as well as life off the field.
“The A-Leagues have a somewhat chequered history of players returning relatively quickly [from moves to Europe], and there’s nothing wrong with that, but we want to make sure that we’re doing everything in our power to set the players up for success,” he said. Irankunda’s family is from Burundi, but fled to Tanzania due to civil war. Nestory, one of eight siblings, was born in a refugee camp there before his parents Gideon and Dafroza moved the family to Adelaide in 2013. Irankunda’s agent, Adrian Griffin, said he was pleased to be able to secure the deal for the player and his family.
“There has been a long process to get to this point but through it all Adelaide United and Bayern Munich have been great, and we’ve reached an outcome that is good for everyone,” he said.
The A-League Men competition is working to improve its standing in Australia’s competitive sporting marketplace after a change in ownership two years ago. The deal for Irankunda represents the vision of new commissioner Nick Garcia for the A-League Men to be a development league for Europe. In the first four rounds of 2023-24, players aged 21 or under played more minutes than any previous season. But no player has attracted more attention than Irankunda, whose frenetic movement, ferocity in attack, and sometimes fiery approach have made him the league’s major attraction since he debuted at age 15.
Kosmina said the timing of the move is good for both the league and the player. “We’re in a position that we get to see a future Bayern Munich player playing in Coopers Stadium for the next seven months,” he said. “That’s important obviously, for our fans to enjoy, but it’s important for Nestory as well, in terms of his development.
He’s got a long pathway to prepare himself for the cultural and football shift that comes with moving to Europe.” The announcement ends a process that started a year ago, when Irankunda and his representatives drew up a wishlist of clubs.
One of those original clubs was Bayern Munich, the club supported by Irankunda’s father. At a similar time, the German club identified the Australian as a transfer target and contact had been made by April. Although several other clubs lodged offers and presented to Irankunda, the negotiations with Bayern – both for player and club – had proceeded steadily in recent months. In the past week the transfer fee, incentives and sell-on clause were agreed, and Irankunda finalised personal terms. The fee, although not an A-League record, is a significant return given Irankunda could have signed a contract in January that would have left Adelaide United less than $500,000, a figure based on FIFA’s standardised scheme of training compensation.