- Planet Sport writer
- 15 August 2024
Real Madrid's pursuit of Alphonso Davies from Bayern Munich ends
Real Madrid have officially ended their pursuit of Bayern Munich's left-back Alphonso Davies this summer.
Alphonso Boyle Davies was born in the Buduburam refugee camp in Ghana. His parents fled Monrovia, Liberia, during the Second Civil War.
With six kids, they eventually moved to Edmonton, Canada, when Alphonso was five.
Davies attended St. Nicholas Catholic Junior High in Edmonton and learned English while also playing soccer.
He began at the Free Footie organisation, set up for inner-city youths who couldn't afford registration fees or equipment.
Breaking through at Vancouver Whitecaps
After the Free Footie program, he played for the Edmonton Internationals and Edmonton Strikers before joining the Vancouver Whitecaps FC residency program at the age of 14.
In 2016, he played with the Whitecaps on the MLS pre-season tour and signed with the Whitecaps FC 2 in the USL. He was the youngest player in the USL at 15 and made his debut in April 2016.
Davies scored his first goal on May 15, setting a new mark as the youngest goalscorer in USL history. In 11 games that year, he scored twice for Whitecaps FC 2.
Vancouver signed him to a short-term contract for the 2016 Canadian Championship, and he started leg two against Ottawa on June 1, 2016. On July 15, he signed an MLS contract with Vancouver, becoming the second-youngest player in MLS history.
Alphonso Davies, Vancouver Whitecaps, 2017
He debuted on July 16 and scored his first-ever goal for Vancouver in the CONCACAF Champions League against Sporting Kansas City. Overall in 2016, he played in eight MLS games.
In 2017, Davies appeared in 26 MLS games for Vancouver. He scored twice in the US Open Cup and again in the Canadian Championships. Overall in his second season, he played in 33 games and scored three goals.
His first goal in an MLS game came in the 2018 season opener against Montreal, and he also added an assist. Davies had a big game against Orlando City on June 10 with a goal and three assists.
He played in the 2018 MLS All-Star Game against Juventus and was named the Whitecaps Player of the Year after scoring twice in the season finale against Portland. He also earned the Whitecaps Goal of the Year Award for 2018.
Career with Bayern Munich
Davies was sold by Vancouver and the MLS to Bayern Munich in the summer of 2018. The deal was worth $13.5million with bonuses, adding up to a $22million deal if reached. At the time, it was the largest sale in MLS history.
Davies finished the season with the Whitecaps and joined Bayern in January 2019. He debuted on January 12 as Bayern beat Borussia Monchengladbach in the Telekom Cup Final.
His Bundesliga debut came two weeks later as a substitute against VfB Stuttgart. Davies scored his first Bayern goal on March 17 against Mainz 05, becoming their youngest scorer in 20 years and the first Canadian to ever score for the club.
Bayern won the Bundesliga title in 2019 and the DFB Pokal Final against RB Leipzig.
In the 2019/20 season, Davies made his first Bundesliga start and played all 90 minutes in matchday nine against Union Berlin. He also started a Champions League game for the first time on November 6.
His move to left-back earned rave reviews in league and continental play as Bayern went on a long unbeaten run.
Alphonso Davies, Bayern Munich, 2021
In April 2020, he signed a contract extension with Bayern to the end of the 2025 season. After the pandemic break, Davies scored and added an assist against Frankfurt.
On June 16, Bayern won their eighth straight Bundesliga title, and Davies set a league record for fastest ever speed as he was clocked at 22.69mph. He was named the Bundesliga Rookie of the Year for 2019/20 with three goals in 29 league games.
In the Champions League, he provided the assist for a goal in Bayern's 8-2 thumping of Barcelona in the quarter-finals.
He started in the final as Bayern beat PSG 1-0 to win the title, becoming the first Canadian male ever to win the Champions League.
He made the Champions League Squad of the Year and was runner-up for UEFA Defender of the Year.
In the 2020/21 season, he played in four league games and one Champions League game before injuring his right ankle against Eintracht Frankfurt on October 24.
In just two seasons with Bayern, Davies has won the Champions League, two Bundesliga titles, a DFL-Super Cup, a UEFA Super Cup, and two DFB-Pokals.
Canadian career
Davies was called into the Canadian U-15 and U-18 camps despite being a Liberian citizen.
He played for the U-20 squad in a friendly against England on March 17, 2016, and scored for the U-17 team against Jamaica in November. He was named the Canadian U-17 Player of the Year in 2016 and 2017.
On June 6, 2017, Davies became a Canadian citizen and was added to the senior team camp for a friendly against Curacao. His debut made him the youngest player ever to play for Canada.
He scored twice in Canada's 4-2 win over French Guiana in the 2017 Gold Cup. Four days later, he scored against Costa Rica in a 1-1 draw and earned the Gold Cup Golden Boot Award.
He was also named in the Gold Cup's Best XI and the Young Player of the Tournament.
Alphonso Davies, Canada, 2017
Davies played in the 2019 Gold Cup as Canada finished second in their group and lost to Haiti in the quarter-finals.
He scored against Cuba on September 10 and again on October 15 against the United States in the Nations League.
The goal against the US led to a 2-0 win and was his first international goal on Canadian soil. That win was the first for Canada against the United States in 34 years.
He is the youngest player to score for Canada, the youngest to score in the Gold Cup, and the first player born in the 2000s to score at a top-level international tournament.
Personal life
Davies has five siblings, is the fourth-youngest, and was born to Debeah and Victoria Davies.
He is dating Jordyn Huitema, who plays for the Canadian women's national team and with Paris Saint-Germain in France's Division 1 Feminine League.
Huitema played in the 2019 Women's World Cup and also represented Canada in the 2020 Olympic Qualifiers.
Net worth
Davies' new Bayern Munich contract pays him $5.98million per year through 2025. His market value is estimated at $17.95million. His net worth is estimated to be in the $10million range.
