How Kingsley Coman went from PSG reject to Bayern Munich’s Champions League hero

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Sunday was a big day for Munich, Germany. The city once again can call itself the home of the European champions following Bayern Munich’s 1-0 win over Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League final. But for Kingsley Coman of Bayern, it was revenge against a club that deemed him expendable and pain for the city that raised him. 

The winning goal scorer with his second-half header, Coman has had quite the crazy career path. The 24-year-old won his 20th trophy on Sunday, but it wasn’t without bumps in the road. Coman was born in Paris to parents from Guadeloupe and joined PSG’s academy in 2004. He spent nine years in the club’s youth system and even played for the senior side, becoming the youngest player to ever play for PSG at 16 years, eight months and four days. 

But his tenure with the emerging, money-backed capitol club did not last long. His contract expired in 2014, and he signed a five-year deal with Juventus before eventually moving to Bayern in 2015. Since then, he’s gone from playing 26 total games in four seasons from 2012-16 to averaging over 30 appearances in his five years with Bayern. 

Fast forward to Sunday’s final, and he’s the surprise inclusion in the starting XI over Ivan Perisic. He had the trust of coach Hansi Flick to deliver against his former club, the one that he wasn’t good enough to earn a contract extension with, and he did just that:

What a moment, and as a result, he came the first player in the history of the competition to score against a former club in the final.

His goal lifted Bayern to the title once again and prevented his former club from achieving the ultimate goal in the biggest game of their existence.