Bayern Munich have told Hiroki Ito's agents to actively look for a new club for the defender, a German sports outlet reported, signalling the end of an underwhelming two-year spell at the club.
The instruction comes with a headline figure: Bayern are seeking about €20 million for Ito. That price hangs over a player who has made just 31 competitive appearances for the Bavarian side across two seasons and whose time at the club has been repeatedly interrupted by injury.
Ito’s medical setbacks are extensive on paper. He fractured a metatarsal in a pre-season friendly in his debut campaign, returned in mid-February, then suffered a second metatarsal break in his eighth competitive outing and was sidelined until late autumn. Most recently, he tore a muscle fibre in February 2025. Those interruptions have left him behind in the pecking order: Jonathan Tah and Dayot Upamecano were preferred in central defence for high-stakes domestic and European fixtures, while Josip Stanisic and Konrad Laimer were picked at left-back in big games.
Bayern’s decision to move on from Ito arrives amid clear defensive recruitment plans. The club is closing in on left-back Nathaniel Brown from Eintracht Frankfurt and is also tracking Inter Milan centre-back Yann Bisseck, moves that would further limit Ito’s pathway into the side if he stayed.
The price Bayern are asking echoes money previously spent on Ito. The timeline attached to his moves shows significant fees: Bayern paid €20 million to VfB Stuttgart when they activated his release clause in summer 2022 and then paid around €24 million for him in summer 2024. The current €20 million tag is therefore notable for suggesting Bayern hope to recoup a large portion of their outlay despite the interruptions to Ito’s availability.
That is the friction at the centre of this development. Clubs are expected to weigh Ito’s talent against a record that includes two metatarsal fractures and a recent muscle tear; the same report that relayed Bayern’s instruction also described the player’s medical history as making the full asking price unlikely. At the same time, Ito reportedly finds the Spanish league an attractive destination — a factor that could produce interest even if offers fall short of Bayern’s figure.
Immediate consequences are practical: Ito and his representatives must market a player with top‑level experience but limited recent minutes, while Bayern clear a squad spot and free resources to complete other defensive targets ahead of next season as the World Cup looms. For Bayern, a sale would close a short, injury-hit chapter; for Ito, it would be a chance to re-establish himself elsewhere.
The central unanswered question now is straightforward and decisive: will any club be willing to meet Bayern’s roughly €20 million asking price for a player who has played 31 competitive matches in two seasons and carries a record of metatarsal breaks and a muscle tear? That single fact — price versus medical history — will determine whether Ito leaves this summer for a permanent transfer, departs on loan, or remains as Bayern reshapes its defence.
