'Best decision of my life' - How Lionesses star Georgia Stanway revived her 'plateauing' career at Bayern Munich to become one of the world's best midfielders

The start of Stanway’s professional career couldn’t have gone much better. After progressing through the youth set-up and into the first team at Blackburn Rovers, she moved to Man City as a 16-year-old and would earn immediate exposure to Women's Super League football, becoming a key player in the side while still a teenager. Indeed, in the 2017-18 season, which she began as an 18-year-old, Stanway helped City to reach the Champions League semi-finals, where Lyon only beat them 1-0 over two legs, and was named in the competition's 'Team of the Season' at its conclusion.

But during the 2021-22 campaign, as Stanway’s contract at City was nearing its end, the England international was showing signs of frustration. She wasn’t playing regularly in midfield, and while she understood the need to do a job for the team, especially when injuries hit, she told Sky Sports: "I'll be honest with you about versatility: Going forward, that isn't something I want to be.”

Ahead of a home Euros, it wasn’t helping her place in the Lionesses’ picture, either. In England’s penultimate friendly before the tournament, Stanway was on the bench, with Wiegman admitting to her before the game that she wasn’t sure how she fit into her XI.

Fortunately for Stanway, two things happened. One saw Wiegman reshuffle the Lionesses’ team, moving Leah Williamson, who had been playing regularly in midfield, into a centre-back role that freed up a spot for Stanway. She subsequently started all six of England’s games as they triumphed at Euro 2022, and she has not looked back since, starting 48 of the 59 Lionesses fixtures she has been available for since, including every major tournament match.

The other major incident was a move away from City, to take on an entirely new challenge in Germany with Bayern Munich. It was a deal that was signed before the Euros began, something Stanway believes helped her thrive at the tournament.

"I think the reason that I did so well at the Euros was because I'd already signed for Bayern - I was just free,” she told BBC Sport. It’s a move that has had plenty of long-term benefits, too.

Stanway is very open and honest about where she felt she was at that time in her career. "I was at City for seven, nearly eight years, from the age of 16 to 23," she told BBC Sport. "I'd played nearly 200 games, won seven trophies and left as the club's all-time leading goal-scorer. But I felt like for the last 18 months, I had plateaued.”

It’s a feeling she has reiterated in many interviews over the last few years, describing herself as being “at a standstill” to Sky Sports and telling Miasanrot, the Bayern Munich blog: "The move to Munich was an opportunity for me to start anew. In Manchester, I felt like I’d reached a point where I wouldn’t improve or develop any further." It was time for a change, and Bayern offered that in spades.

"I was in a situation where I wanted to put myself out of my comfort zone, challenge myself and pose the question, ‘How good could I be?’” she explained to Sky Sports. The move to Munich has provided the perfect situation for exactly that – and the answers that Stanway has found have been emphatic.

Moving to Bayern has been a catalyst for Stanway’s career, sparking things back into life after that feeling of plateauing and standing still. She’s had consistent game time in midfield for a title-winning team that has played Champions League football every season, while experiencing a new style and environment that has helped her to grow and improve.

With the change, Stanway has got better in so many areas. Her quality in possession feels more refined, her timing in a tackle is sharper and her discipline, which was sometimes a question mark over her in earlier days because of how regularly she could be booked, is rarely mentioned anymore.

"I’ve progressed massively at Bayern," she said just a year into the move. "I think I’ve progressed a lot quicker than I expected."

Since then, Stanway has become more versatile in midfield, too. This season, she is playing in a deeper, more defensive role, but has adapted well to the challenge while still managing to rack up an impressive number of goal contributions.

There are non-technical aspects, too. In an interview with FCBinside, Stanway noted how she has "grown as a person but also as a leader" in Germany, something that also feels notable when watching her play for England because of the way she regularly steps up and delivers under pressure.

As Stanway’s time in Munich prepares to come to an end, it’s clear that it has been an unequivocal success – for all parties. She has been a key player as the club has won four successive league titles - the most recent of which was clinched on Wednesday - as well as three more domestic trophies. She’s been almost ever-present in Bayern's run to this season’s Champions League semi-finals, too, their best performance in the competition in five years.

That has brought with it individual recognition, most notably in the form of her first Ballon d’Or nomination in 2023, while England, too, have been able to reap the rewards. Stanway has evolved into one of the first names on the teamsheet for Wiegman since her move to Germany, rising into the top 10 on the list of the Lionesses’ all-time top goal-scorers with her regularly decisive contributions.

It’s no wonder she has been such a highly coveted free agent ahead of her contract at Bayern expiring this summer, with Arsenal seemingly set to be the side to snap up her signature.

Stanway’s time at Bayern isn’t over yet, though. While the Supercup has been clinched and the league title wrapped up, there is still the DFB-Pokal to play for and the possibility of an unbeaten Bundesliga campaign. Bayern have dropped points just once all season, in a goalless draw with Jena back in September.

Then, of course, there is the Champions League. It’s a competition that has eluded Bayern on the women’s side, with the club still yet to reach their first final. This weekend, though, marks the start of a massive opportunity in the semis, where three-time winners Barcelona are their opponents.

It’s not going to be easy. Barca thumped Bayern 7-1 back in October, an indication of just how devastatingly good the Catalans can be. But Esmee Brugts, the Barca full-back, was adamant this week that she expects a totally different challenge from Bayern this time, having watched the German champions enjoy a 26-game unbeaten streak since, in which they’ve won 25 times.

"Bayern Munich are one of the strongest teams in Europe," Brugts said. "They have been dominating in the German league, which is not an easy league, and since our [last] game, they haven't lost. That's really impressive and all credit to them. Of course, the first game against them was a while ago and with a different context. We know it will never be the same game again. That's football. Every game is a different game and we have to be as ready as we can."

Bayern know first-hand how things can change from one meeting to the next, too. After all, these two were in the same Champions League group back in the 2022-23 season, with the German side thumping Barca 3-1 at home after losing 3-0 at Camp Nou a few months earlier. Both squads have changed in the three years since, but many players also remain, including Stanway.

In one of her first Champions League games as a Bayern player, she played brilliantly to stun the Catalans. Now, in one of her final Champions League games as a Bayern player, she’ll have a key role in trying to help her side do that again, as she looks to close out what she has described as “the best” four years of her career in style.

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