Leon Goretzka’s Bayern Munich career did not end as it was supposed to.The German midfielder, who has signed for Aston Villa on a free transfer, won everything there was to win during his eight years at Allianz Arena. He was a cornerstone of Bayern’s imperial era, during which they won the Bundesliga seven times, the DFB-Pokal three times and the Champions League in 2020.Goretzka, now 31, was one of the world’s most prominent midfielders during that run. There was even a period, for maybe two or three years, when he might have been considered Europe’s pre-eminent box-to-box midfielder. Physical, destructive, but with excellent attacking instincts and timing that allowed him to complement Bayern’s more technical or tactically adroit players.But prior to his release this summer, Goretzka had become a player out of time and a symbol of a decadent era. It’s a situation that needs explaining.In 2021, he signed a highly lucrative, five-year contract. He was one of several players, alongside Serge Gnabry and Kingsley Coman, who tied their future to the club, but who accounted for a sizeable chunk of Bayern’s wage bill.In time, as his impact lessened, it made Goretzka a target. When he joined in 2018 (moving from Schalke on a free transfer), he was the ideal signing. Thiago Alcantara was still orchestrating Bayern’s midfield, Javi Martinez was anchoring it, and Goretzka provided a set of attributes that the team needed.However, as the conditions around him changed, that value declined and — increasingly — the focus fell more on his flaws. Goretzka is not a playmaker; he lacks the passing ability and the delicate touch. He is also not the most tactically aware player and cannot be used simply to provide quality.Instead, at his best, he is a rogue element, stealing into penalty boxes and attacking space, or otherwise turning midfields inhospitable and making opponents uncomfortable. That kind of player always needs the right chemistry around them. Increasingly, he did not. That also meant that as Bayern tried to pivot between eras, the big contract he signed in 2021, which made his sale virtually impossible, recast him as someone who had outstayed his welcome.The prevailing narrative among his detractors portrayed him as being content to see out a contract that would not be on offer elsewhere. But that’s not really fair. He may have become less relevant to the first team and he may no longer be in his prime, but Goretzka repeatedly fought for his career in recent seasons.