Despite not logging a single minute of senior soccer at age 18, Bajung Darboe is one of American soccer’s hottest prospects. And this January? He’s reportedly set to join Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich after an agreement was struck with MLS side LAFC in November for his transfer.
The two clubs have a unique partnership, too.
The respective giants helped found Red&Gold Football in 2023 — a partnership and development cooperation to help youth players find a pathway into the first-team at both clubs while scouting talent from all around the world.
Darboe? He’s the latest example of the program’s success.
“We’ve founded a joint venture, Red&Gold Football, which is based in Munich. It’s a 50/50 joint venture with LAFC,” Director of Youth Development Jochen Sauer told WorldSoccerTalk in November. “Our focus is now the [North] American, South American, and African markets to develop talent for Bayern Munich and LAFC.
“One of the reasons why we have this partnership with LAFC, especially in California, is because they have a very close connection to North and South America,” Sauer added. “So we share a little bit of the responsibilities. LAFC oversees more of the South American market because they have their scouts on the ground in South America. They have a lot of players in their team from South America and North America. We, [Bayern Munich], oversee the European and African market.”
With his transfer, Darboe becomes the third MLS Homegrown player to join the German club, following in the footsteps of current first-team star Alphonso Davies and ex-FC Dallas player Justin Che.
Darboe follow in the footsteps of current USMNT players Chris Richards and Malik Tillman — who both played for FC Bayern II before having brief stints with the first team in the Bundesliga. Both Richards and Tillman would move on to other clubs to secure bigger roles, joining Crystal Palace and PSV respectively.
But what makes the 18-year-old so special? From Minnesota United to the Philadelphia Union and now LAFC, he’s been a hot commodity among MLS academies in recent years — and now, it’s next step Bayern Munich for a reported $1.5m fee.
GOAL takes a look into why Bayern decided to bring the American to Bavaria.