Nestory Irankunda’s rise to stardom
Nestory Irankunda joined Adelaide United in 2021 when he was just 15 years old. Prior to that he played for local sides such as Northern Wolves SC, Parafield Gardens SC, and Adelaide Croatia Raiders. Before all of that Irankunda was born in Tanzania to Burundi parents, who fled Burundi due to the Burundi Civil War.
Irankunda signed his first professional contract in September 2021 and made his debut for Adelaide United in January 2022. When he made his debut, he was just 15 and 333 days old, making him the sixth youngest player in A-League.
Most of Irankunda’s appearances were off the bench, but that didn’t stop the young star from scoring. Irankunda got his first A-League goal just 3 weeks after his debut via a winning free kick goal against Newcastle Jets. He would score two more goals in the rest of the 2021-22 and end up being named as a member of the A-Leagues All Stars squad for that season.
Irankunda built off his strong first season and played 22 matches for Adelaide United last year in the 2022-23 A-League. These strong performances had many big clubs paying attention, including Bayern.
Bayern transfer months in the making
Reports linking Irankunda to Bayern go back at least to May 2023, with some outlets saying the German giants were interested in him even earlier. Whatever the case, Irankunda is for sure going to join Bayern Munich in July.
The Bavarian outfit announced officially on their club website that they have confirmed the signing of Nestory Irankunda.
“We've had Nestory on our radar for some time and we're pleased we've reached an agreement with him and Adelaide United on a move to Munich for next summer. We'd like to thank the United management for the good talks,” said Jochen Sauer, Bayern Munich’s director of youth development.
Sauer also said “Nestory is an extremely quick winger, a strong dribbler and finisher with good drive towards goal. We're convinced by his potential and that he will take the next steps with us.”
The A-League and Adelaide United have also confirmed Irankunda’s exit. Neither Bayern or Adelaide United have revealed the transfer fee the Germans will pay for Irankunda, but most reports claim the fee is $5.8m. If these reports are accurate, Irankunda’s transfer has smashed the previous A-League record, which was set just earlier this year when Celtic paid $2.9m for Melbourne City’s Marco Tilio.
Irankunda’s Socceroos future
Nestory Irankunda has sky high potential. If he didn’t, Bayern wouldn’t be buying him. With that being said, the Bavarian club would be just fine if Irankunda never hit his potential.
Bayern have won the Bundesliga for 11 straight seasons and are favourites to win it again, according to the betting sites. They will probably be favourites again next season after Irankunda officially joins the team.
For the Socceroos, things could not be more different. Irankunda is the best Australian soccer prospect in decades. If he turns into a genuine world class player, Australia could take a leap from a solid national team to a genuine team not to be trifled with at World Cups.
