Apparently, a “bust-up” with Sadio Mane harmed Julian Nagelsmann’s rapport with his Bayern Munich teammates.
Nagelsmann’s five-year deal at Bayern, which cost the Bundesliga’s top team a world-record £22 million to sign him from Leipzig, was terminated barely one year and a half into it.
Under the 35-year-old coach, Bayern won the league title the previous season and were the Champions League’s best club this season, winning all eight games with just two goals allowed.
However, the club chose to fire their coach and hire Thomas Tuchel after losing the title race to Borussia Dortmund by dropping ten points since the beginning of 2023.
The club terminated Nagelsmann’s contract for a number of reasons, according to club directors, including their league performance and Tuchel’s availability.
In the meantime, a number of dressing room issues have been brought up in the media. According to recent claims, one of them involved the £35 million former Liverpool player Mane.
According to claims made by BILD in Germany, the coach’s ‘intimidated’ response to Mane cost him control in the locker room.
The Senegalese forward has had a difficult time since transferring to Germany, and according to BILD, his frustrations reached a breaking point when he was only given eight minutes of the Champions League matchup against Paris Saint-Germain.
Bayern outplayed Parisiens in both legs to win 3-0 on aggregate, but Mane “complained heavily” in front of his teammates after they had guaranteed their place in the quarterfinals.
After being taken aback by the coach’s response, opinions were then reinforced when Mane started the following two matches but failed to contribute in either of the victories—a 5-3 victory over Augsburg and a 2-1 loss to Bayer Leverkusen.
Nagelsmann’s final game in charge of Bayern was that one, and he has since been linked to the open position at Tottenham Hotspur.
