Austria Wien signs Christian Früchtl

Goalkeeper Christian Früchtl moves from FC Bayern Munich to Austria Wien. The 22-year-old signed a contract until the summer of 2025 and will start pre-season with the Violets on June 20.

"The anticipation for the club Austria Wien, the fans, the city is very high. We had very good talks and I'm looking forward to the first games here in the stadium and of course hope that we will be successful. I was third goalkeeper at Bayern Munich, you don't get much match practice there. Recently, I've also been on the bench a lot, but my clear goal is to play, of course. That's another reason why I decided to come to Austria Wien. I think this is the right club for me and my development and I can't wait to get started," said Christian Früchtl in his first statement.

Born in Bavaria, Früchtl started playing soccer in his hometown at SV Bischofsmais and joined SpVgg Grün-Weiß Deggendorf at the age of eleven. Three years later, in the summer of 2014, the goalkeeper was signed by FC Bayern Munich, where he progressed through the youth ranks. In 2016/17, he became German champion with the U17 team.

As early as December 2015, Früchtl made his first appearance in the UEFA Youth League as a 15-year-old - even then with a body height of 1.90 meters - and then traveled with the Munich professionals to the winter training camp shortly before his 16th birthday. In the summer of 2017, he was included in the professional squad and appeared in international test matches.

In 2018/19, Früchtl was promoted from the Bavarian Regionalliga to Germany's 3rd league with Bayern Munich II, where he immediately won the league title and became the first second team representative of a professional club to do so. After a one-year loan to 1. FC Nuremberg, Früchtl returned to Munich in the summer of 2021 and made his Bundesliga debut on May 14, 2022, on the final matchday of the past season.

The 1.93-meter goalkeeper played 13 games for FC Bayern in the UEFA Youth League, 72 games in the Regionalliga as well as 3. Liga and so far 19 games for German junior national teams from U15 to U20.

Christian Früchtl will start preparing together with his new teammates next Monday, June 20. "I feel really good, enjoyed and used the summer vacation and am absolutely ready for the new season."

Sports Director Manuel Ortlechner: "We had great talks with Christian right from the start and quickly realized in Munich that he really wanted to join Austria Wien. He has great potential and will now have the opportunity to show it to the full. In addition to footballing skills, we always pay special attention to how a person ticks and we are convinced that Christian also fits very well into the group in terms of character. We would also like to take this opportunity to thank FC Bayern Munich for the very good cooperation on this transfer and are now looking forward to being able to tackle the upcoming tasks with Christian Früchtl."