Bayern Munich have dismissed ‘un-objective statements’ made about head coach Thomas Tuchel, who has been linked with the Barcelona job.
Xavi announced late on Saturday he would be standing down from his role as Barca boss at the end of the season.
During a fan event in Heidenheim one day later, Tuchel admitted he would be open to managing in Spain at some point in his career.
However, during an appearance on Sky Sports Germany, former midfielder Dietmar Hamann misunderstood Tuchel’s quotes and launched a scathing attack on the Bayern head coach.
“He [Tuchel] sits there and talks about Xavi, about his successor and that he would like to coach in Barcelona or Spain. That’s a disgrace,” Hamann said.
“Tuchel is a very intelligent man, something like that doesn’t just slip out of his mouth. But he needs to know one thing – when you are an employee of FC Bayern, messing with the club’s leadership was rarely a good idea.
“He is the biggest misunderstanding since Jurgen Klinsmann. They don’t fit together and he knows that now. When I look at the last three home games, it’s subpar by Bayern’s standards. Against three teams at the bottom, that’s simply not enough. That has nothing to do with football.”
Bayern, understandably, have since released a statement defending Tuchel from this spread of misinformation.
The statement read: “On Sunday, as part of a fan club visit, our head coach Thomas Tuchel was asked by the supporters about his coaching career and his previous experiences abroad at Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea FC and of course he gave information about this in the conversation.
“He also answered general questions from fans about Spain as a football country. He never spoke about Xavi Hernandez and his successor, as was subsequently falsely claimed.
“We will no longer accept such un-objective statements directed against our coach, which always come from the same place.”
Meanwhile, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has distanced himself from the Barcelona job, claiming reports from Spain suggesting he will leave the Gunners made him ‘really upset’ and were not true.
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