Dayot Upamecano

Dayotchanculle Oswald Upamecano (; born 27 October 1998) is a French professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for club Bayern Munich and the France national team.

Early life Dayotchanculle Oswald Upamecano was born on 27 October 1998 in Évreux, Eure, and is of Bissau-Guinean descent. He was raised in La Madeleine, a neighbourhood with many African immigrants. He is the first son after four daughters, and has one younger brother. He acquired French nationality on 19 November 2002, through the collective effect of his mother's naturalization. As a 15-year-old, he followed speech therapy sessions to overcome dyslexia and stuttering disorders, which caused shyness and certain difficulties in expressing himself.

Club career Early career Upamecano began playing football with local club Évreux, alongside the likes of Ousmane Dembélé, Rafik Guitane and Samuel Grandsir. He was an unused substitute in Red Bull's UEFA Champions League game against Malmö FF on 29 July 2015. He made his professional debut for Red Bull's farm team, FC Liefering, two days later, in a 2–1 league win against St. Pölten. On 19 March 2016, he made his league debut with Red Bull Salzburg in a 2–1 win over SV Mattersburg.

In the first half of the 2016–17 season, Upamecano earned a regular place with the first team in both league and Europa League matches.

RB Leipzig On 13 January 2017, Upamecano joined RB Leipzig on a -year deal, for a reported €10 million fee. On 4 February 2017, he made his Bundesliga debut under coach Ralph Hasenhüttl in a 1–0 defeat against Borussia Dortmund. On 13 September 2017, he made his Champions League debut in a 1–1 draw against Monaco. On 9 February 2018, he scored his first goal in a 2–0 win over Augsburg. On 2 July 2018, he was shortlisted for the 2018 Golden Boy award.

On 31 July 2020, Upamecano signed a new deal until 2023. In the 2019–20 season, he reached with RB Leipzig the Champions League semi-finals under coach Julian Nagelsmann.

Bayern Munich On 14 February 2021, Bayern Munich announced an agreement for the signing of Upamecano on a five-year deal, to be effective as of 1 July 2021. The club reportedly met his release clause from Leipzig, set at €42.5 million. Upamecano's first game as a Bayern player came in a pre-season friendly on 16 July 2021 against fellow Bundesliga side 1. FC Köln that saw Bayern lose 3–2 after fielding a side largely consisting of reserve and youth players.

He made his competitive debut on the opening day of the 2021–22 Bundesliga season, starting at centre-back alongside Niklas Süle in a 1–1 away draw against Borussia Mönchengladbach. He scored his first goal for the club in a 4–0 win over VfL Wolfsburg on 17 December, heading in a cross from Thomas Müller.

During the 2022–23 UEFA Champions League, Bayern defeated Upamecano's France compatriot Kylian Mbappé's Paris Saint-Germain in the round of 16, only for them to be eliminated by a 4–1 defeat on aggregate to Manchester City in the quarter-finals, in which Upamecano's performances were heavily criticised. Due to this, a beIN SPORTS' Arabic commentator referred to Upamecano as "Upamaguire" (this being due to Harry Maguire's poor form at the time).

On 4 November 2023, he scored his first goal of the 2023–24 season in the fourth minute of a 4–0 away win over Borussia Dortmund. In February 2024, Upamecano was sent off twice in the span of four days: on 14 February, he received his first straight red card in the Champions League during the round of 16 first leg away match against Lazio, which resulted in a penalty kick and a 1–0 defeat; on 18 February, he received two yellow cards and again conceded a penalty in a 3–2 loss to Bochum in the Bundesliga.

Under new manager Vincent Kompany's coaching, Upamecano's performances improved drastically, as he helped Bayern reclaim the 2024–25 Bundesliga title. On 13 February 2026, he extended his contract with the club until 2030. Two months later, on 28 April, he scored his first Champions League goal in a 5–4 away defeat against Paris Saint-Germain in the competition's semi-final first leg.

International career

Upamecano played for the France under-16 team that finished third in the 2014 Aegean Cup. He played in three of his country's four games and was named the competition's best defender. He subsequently moved up to the France under-17 squad, making his debut in a European Championship qualifier against Cyprus on 27 October 2014. He debuted for France under-18 in a 0–0 friendly draw with United States under-18 on 4 September 2015.

On 5 September 2020, Upamecano debuted for the French senior squad, starting in a UEFA Nations League group stage match against Sweden. Three days later on 8 September, he scored his first international goal in a 4–2 victory against Croatia.

Upamecano played a pivotal role in France's 2022 FIFA World Cup, starting five of France's seven matches. This included playing the entire 120 minutes in the final in an eventual 3–3 loss in penalties to Argentina.

On 14 May 2026, Upamecano was selected in the 26-man squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Upamecano and the rest of the team would finish the tournament in fourth place as England won the third-place match 6–4.

Career statistics Club

International

Scores and results list France's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Upamecano goal

Honours Bayern Munich DFL-/Franz Beckenbauer Supercup: 2021, 2022, 2025, 2026 Bundesliga: 2021–22, 2022–23, 2024–25, 2025–26 DFB-Pokal: 2025–26

France U17 UEFA European Under-17 Championship: 2015

France UEFA Nations League: 2020–21 FIFA World Cup runner-up: 2022

Individual UEFA European Under-17 Championship Team of the Tournament: 2015 UEFA Champions League Squad of the Season: 2019–20 ESM Team of the Year: 2019–20 VDV Bundesliga Team of the Season: 2020–21, 2022–23, 2024–25, 2025–26 Bundesliga Team of the Season: 2024–25, 2025–26 FIFA World Cup Dream XI: 2026