Sibari is close to achieving glory on the European stage.

Ismaïl Sabiri, one of Morocco's standout players at the 2026 World Cup, has bolstered Bayern Munich's attacking strength as the club aims for silverware this summer. The team kicks off its UEFA Champions League campaign tomorrow, Thursday, at home against Norwegian side Bodo/Glimt, hoping to secure a seventh continental title.

In a press conference held on Wednesday, Belgian coach Vincent Kompany responded to a question about whether Bayern is considered a main contender for the title, stating: “Bayern is one of about ten clubs in Europe that should start every season with the goal of winning the Champions League,” emphasizing that the road ahead is still long.

Since taking charge of the Bavarian side, the 40-year-old Belgian coach has continued to make progress in the continental competition, reaching the quarter-finals in the spring of 2025 against Inter Milan, who later became the tournament's runner-up, and then advancing to the semi-finals the following year against Paris Saint-Germain, the reigning champions of the last two editions.

With the aim of advancing each season, the Champions League remains the only trophy needed to complete a domestic double (league and cup) for 2026, as Bayern last claimed its sixth title in 2020.

English top scorer Harry Kane stated in an interview with TNT Sports earlier this week: “We enter this season saying it has to be our year. We have to find a way to achieve that.”

After showcasing significant attacking power last season (184 goals in 55 matches, including 43 goals in 14 Champions League games), the Bavarian club signed Sabiri to enhance its attack, which includes Kane, Frenchman Michael Oliseh, and Colombian Luis Díaz.

Sabiri suffered a hamstring injury during the Round of 16 match against Canada in the 2026 World Cup, a tournament where he gained widespread fame (scoring three goals, including one against Brazil). He is currently in recovery and increasing his minutes with Bayern.

In Bayern's sights

He played for half an hour in the Bundesliga opener against Stuttgart (5-1) ten days ago, assisting two goals, then played his first two full matches for an hour each, the first against Osnabrück in the cup (4-1) as a playmaker, and the second in the league against Schalke 04 in Gelsenkirchen (0-0) as a striker.

Sabiri said after the Stuttgart match: “I really love Bayern's style of play; it suits me a lot. And certainly, ‘Vini’ had a role in that; he is very well-known in Belgium.”

After his experience in the youth academies of Anderlecht, Genk, and Mechelen in Belgium, Sabiri joined Dutch side PSV Eindhoven in 2020, where he initially played with the youth teams before moving up to the first team in 2022.

The Moroccan international has been on Bayern's radar for a long time. The club's sporting director, Max Eberl, explained in an interview with the weekly magazine Sport Bild on Wednesday: “After our Champions League match in Eindhoven (late January), ‘Vini’ spoke with Ismaïl. Then he asked me, ‘Do we know him already?’ I answered yes.”

In Munich, where he transferred for a reported fee of €50 million, Sabiri chose the number 34, which he wore at PSV since the 2024 season, in honor of Abdelhak Nouri, the young Ajax Amsterdam player who suffered brain damage due to a cardiac arrest during a friendly match in July 2017.

Sabiri said in an interview with the Bayern-affiliated magazine 51, which featured him on the cover of the September issue: “Abdelhak cannot speak, but he communicates through his eyebrows. I told him, ‘You will choose.’ He chose number 34, so I wore number 34.”