MUNICH (AP) — Leon Goretzka is set to leave Bayern Munich when his contract expires at the end of the season after turning down the chance for a January transfer.
The German midfielder has been with Bayern since 2018, winning the Champions League in 2020, and is chasing a seventh Bundesliga title with the club this season.
“His journey at Bayern will be over in the summer,” Bayern's sporting director Christoph Freund said ahead of the club's Bundesliga game against Hamburger SV on Saturday.
He added the club and Goretzka had held talks over “concrete inquiries” from other teams but that Goretzka wanted to see out the remaining months of his contract because of Bayern's strong form this season.
“As much as I'm honored by interest from international top clubs, I've decided just as clearly that I would like to stay with FC Bayern until the end of the season,” Goretzka posted on Instagram, adding that he wanted to end his eight years with the club with a typical Bayern trophy celebration with fans in Munich's central square.
Goretzka said he felt it was “the right time for me to start a new chapter once again, both as a footballer and as a person," but didn't indicate a potential destination.
Goretzka has played 28 times for Bayern in all competitions this season but only started 16 of those, with coach Vincent Kompany frequently preferring Aleksandar Pavlovic alongside Joshua Kimmich in the center of midfield.
The 30-year-old Goretzka also attracted attention this week for an interview he gave to German newspaper Die Zeit in which he said U.S. President Donald Trump “has managed to make us feel not only German, but also European.”
Goretzka has played 67 times for Germany, including in all of the national team's games as it qualified for this year's World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Bayern's Leon Goretzka, front, warms up during a training session in Munich, Germany, Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026, ahead of the Champions League opening phase soccer match between FC Bayern and Union Saint-Gilloise. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)
Bayern's Leon Goretzka arrives for a training session in Munich, Germany, Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026, ahead of the Champions League opening phase soccer match between PSV Eindhoven and FC Bayern. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)
CRANS-MONTANA, Switzerland (AP) — Lindsey Vonn crashed in her final downhill before the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics on Friday and was left limping and keeping weight off her left knee.
Vonn lost control when landing a jump in a World Cup race and ended up tangled in the safety nets on the upper portion of the course.
She eventually got up after receiving medical attention and walked away gingerly, taking weight off her left knee and using her poles to steady herself. She then clicked her skis back on but stopped to check her left knee.
Vonn eventually made it to the finish area and limped into a tent for medical attention. The race was later canceled after three of the first six racers crashed.
Before she entered the tent, Vonn had an anxious expression on her face and her eyes were closed during a long embrace with teammate Jacquelin Wiles, who was leading the race when it was canceled.
The 41-year-old Vonn has been the circuit’s leading downhiller this season with two victories and three other podium finishes, having returned last season after a partial right knee titanium replacement.
The crash occurred exactly a week before the Milan Cortina opening ceremony.
Vonn’s first Olympic race is the women’s downhill on Feb. 8. She was also planning on competing in the super-G and the new team combined event at the Games.
Women's skiing at the Olympics will be held in Cortina d'Ampezzo, where Vonn holds the record of 12 World Cup wins.
Vonn was also planning on racing a super-G in Crans-Montana on Saturday in what would have been her final race before the Games.
Vonn had registered the fastest time at the first checkpoint and then landed a jump off balance, lifted her left arm and pole high into the air in an attempt to regain her balance. Then as she tried to brake, Vonn got spun around and ended up in the nets.
Vonn was the sixth racer to start and two other skiers had also crashed before her: Nina Ortlieb of Austria and Marte Monsen of Norway.
Ortlieb crashed on top in the same area as Vonn and Monsen hit the nets just before the finish area and had to be taken away in a sled. The race was delayed after both of those crashes. But then two racers — Wiles and Corrine Suter, the Olympic champion, completed their runs.
Romane Miradoli of France, who did complete her run, said visibility was an issue, with snow falling.
“You can't see," Miradoli said, "and it's bumpy everywhere.”
Asked if it was dangerous, Miradoli added, "We just couldn’t see well.”
Vonn has had numerous crashes in her career. One of her worst was at the 2013 world championships in Schladming, Austria, during a super-G that was also held in difficult conditions. Vonn then had to be airlifted off the course and tore apart her right knee. She returned the following season, got hurt again and missed the 2014 Sochi Olympics.
AP Sports Writer Andrew Dampf contributed.
AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics
United States' Lindsey Vonn at the finish line after crashing, during an alpine ski, women's World Cup downhill, in Crans Montana , Switzerland, Friday, Jan. 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)
United States' Lindsey Vonn at the finish line after crashing, during an alpine ski, women's World Cup downhill, in Crans Montana , Switzerland, Friday, Jan. 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Pier Marco Tacca)
United States' Lindsey Vonn at the finish line after crashing, during an alpine ski, women's World Cup downhill, in Crans Montana , Switzerland, Friday, Jan. 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)
United States' Lindsey Vonn at the finish line after crashing, during an alpine ski, women's World Cup downhill, in Crans Montana , Switzerland, Friday, Jan. 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)
United States' Lindsey Vonn at the finish line after crashing, during an alpine ski, women's World Cup downhill, in Crans Montana , Switzerland, Friday, Jan. 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Pier Marco Tacca)
United States' Lindsey Vonn ahead of an alpine ski, women's World Cup downhill, in Crans Montana , Switzerland, Friday, Jan. 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Pier Marco Tacca)
