"The Transfer Rumors Are Completely Untrue"… Kim Min-jae's 12 million Euro Salary and How the Man United Rumor Ended

From March 2023, when he denied the Man United transfer rumors, to July 2026, when he was removed from the sale list: Kim Min-jae's three years, seen through a 50 million euro transfer fee and a 12 million euro salary.

Translated from Korean with AI assistance. Read the original. Sources and original publication dates are retained.

March 24, 2023, the mixed zone after the friendly against Colombia. Asked by reporters about the Man United transfer rumors, Kim Min-jae cut the question short. "The transfer rumors are completely untrue." According to Star News, he added that he would focus on Napoli. The problem is that in the meantime his destination had already been decided, and it was not Man United.

Kim Min-jae's Transfer: From the May 2023 Denial to the July Move to Bayern

The second denial came in May. When some Italian outlets strongly reported a possible agreement on a Man United move, a person on Kim Min-jae's side rebutted it through Football Italia, saying, "It is not true that a deal with Manchester United has been closed." The explanation was that there had not even been any official contact.

Two months later, on July 18, 2023, the actual announcement came. The club was Bayern Munich, not Man United. On the same day, FC Bayern Munich and Napoli both confirmed a permanent transfer, and the contract was set at 5 years, through June 30, 2028, with shirt number 3.

Kim Min-jae's 12 Million Euro Salary: Where Does He Rank in the Squad?

The transfer fee alone was a record. The buyout clause in his Napoli contract was triggered in full, and 50 million euros (about 71 billion to 85.9 billion won) changed hands. It is the highest fee ever for an Asian player. However, the reported amounts differ by outlet. Sky Sport Germany wrote 50 million, tz wrote 42.5 million, and La Gazzetta dello Sport wrote 58 million euros, and neither club's official announcement included an amount.

The clubs do not disclose salaries, so we have to rely on figures from aggregator outlets. According to Capology, his estimated salary for the 2026-27 season is 12 million euros, or 230,769 euros per week. The figure for the 2025-26 season from the same aggregator, which Star News cited last April, is 15 million euros (about 26 billion won), so the gap is 3 million euros depending on which season is used.

2025-26 Bayern Munich Player Salary Ranking (Unit: Euros, Capology Estimates)

Rank	Player	Salary
1	Harry Kane	25 million
2	Manuel Neuer	21 million
3	Joshua Kimmich	20 million
4	Jamal Musiala	18.87 million
5	Serge Gnabry	18.87 million
10	Jonathan Tah	12 million
11	Kim Min-jae	12 million

In the FBref wage table, Kim Min-jae is at 12 million euros, the same as Jonathan Tah. The gap to No. 1 Kane is 13 million euros, and Kim earns less than half of the team's top salary. All of these are estimates, not club announcements.

July 2026: Removed from the Sale List

The final chapter of the transfer rumors was written last month. Sky Sport Germany reported that on July 13, 2026, Bayern changed its internal plans and removed Kim Min-jae from the list of sale candidates, and that unless a massive offer comes in, they will go into the new season together. It is an exclusive-style report that has not been cross-checked.

The decision-maker is manager Vincent Kompany (40), who took charge in the summer of 2024 and delivered 2 straight league titles. Erik ten Hag (56), who was reported to have pursued Kim in 2023, was sacked by Man United in October 2024. There has never been an official club announcement of a Kim Min-jae move to Man United, either in 2023 or in 2026.

Born on November 15, 1996, he is 29 this year. He is a 190cm, 85kg right-footed center back. He started out at Gyeongju KHNP in 2016, won 2 straight K League 1 titles with Jeonbuk Hyundai, and, after stints at Beijing Guoan and Fenerbahce, arrived at Napoli in 2022. At Bayern he has 77 appearances and 4 goals (based on Wikipedia's tally).

For the national team, he has 82 caps and 4 goals as of June 2026. In the all-time appearances list released by the Korea Football Association on July 1, Son Heung-min is first with 147 appearances, and the cutoff for the top 10 is Ki Sung-yueng with 110. His remaining contract runs 22 months, through June 30, 2028.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. What is Kim Min-jae's shirt number?

It is number 3. It was assigned when Bayern Munich announced his signing on July 18, 2023, and it is still shown that way on the club's official player profile as of August 15, 2026.

Q. How old is Kim Min-jae?

He was born on November 15, 1996, so he is 29 years old. This is based on the date of birth listed on Bayern's official profile, and he will be 31 in June 2028, when his contract expires.

Q. Did Kim Min-jae's move to Man United actually happen?

No. Both he and people close to him denied it in March and May 2023, and his actual destination that July was Bayern Munich. The Man United move has so far been only reports at the stage of interest and rumor, with no official club announcement.

Related Official Sites

FC Bayern Munich Kim Min-jae Official Profile — Information listed directly by the club, including team, position and contract expiry date
FC Bayern Munich Kim Min-jae Signing Announcement — The original text on the contract length and shirt number from July 18, 2023
SSC Napoli Kim Min-jae Transfer Announcement — Napoli's notice confirming the permanent transfer
Korea Football Association Men's A National Team Roster — Check the national team's defender list and records

Cover image · Graphic = Whale SV · Background photo = Wikimedia Commons (Richard Bartz, Munich aka Makro Freak), CC BY-SA 2.5