Bayern Munich’s Leon Goretzka would like to exact revenge on Real Madrid

Munich — For Leon Goretzka and every FC Bayern supporter, the next meeting with Real Madrid is no ordinary Champions League tie; it is a chance to settle a score that has grown heavier with each recent elimination. Speaking to club media and relayed by the outlet @iMiaSanMia, the Germany midfielder did not hide the lingering sting: “We haven’t had much success against Real recently. We’d very much like to turn around the statistics from recent years.”

Those numbers, left unspoken, are etched into Bayern’s collective memory: late goals, contentious decisions, and a trophy room in Madrid that now holds 15 European Cups. Goretzka acknowledged the obvious—Real Madrid remain “a world-class team with outstanding individual quality”—but he also noted their volatility this season, saying Los Blancos have enjoyed “very good—but also some bad—moments.”

That unpredictability, however, is precisely what haunts Bayern. “At the moment, you never really know what you’ll get from them,” Goretzka conceded. “Experience tells us that they usually manage to pull something off in the Champions League.” Yet the 29-year-old insists the Bundesliga side will not enter the matchup in awe: “But we’ll be prepared for that.”

The midfielder’s rallying cry mirrors the mood in the stands. From the Allianz Arena to fan pubs in Munich, the desire is singular: to see Bayern finally “have Real Madrid’s number” and, as one colorful passage put it, “mop the floor with them.” After years of painful exits, Goretzka and company believe the time has come to remind the Spanish giants of La Bestia Negra—the Black Beast that once haunted them.

Whether the next encounter arrives in the quarter-finals, semi-finals, or later, Goretzka has made Bayern’s intent clear: the hunt for revenge is on.