Bayern Munich CEO Oliver Kahn has detailed the reason that influenced the club to sack Julian Nagelsmman from his post as the manager. The 53-year-old club chief has cited fluctuations in performance as the motivating factor for the parting with their young head coach.
On Thursday, Bayern Munich sent a shockwave across the football world by announcing the termination of Nagelsmann's contract. A subsequent report and an official statement from the club on Friday, it was revealed that former Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel was set to take over the reins, having agreed a two-and-half contract.
The abrupt nature of the announcement turned a lot of heads given that the Bundesliga giants are in contention to complete a treble this season. The club is currently a point behind league leaders Borussia Dortmund and have quarter-finals appearances in the DFB Pokal and the Champions League on the horizon.
Generally, the expectation is that Bayern will end the season with at least a trophy, hence the sacking of Nagelsmann coming as a huge surprise. However, Oliver Kahn has put all the murmurs to bed, citing the lack of success as the main driving force in the decision to sack the 35-year-old former RB Leipzig coach.
Oliver Kahn: "Personally and on behalf of FC Bayern, I would like to thank Julian and his coaching team, and wish everyone the best of luck for the future."
— FC Bayern Munich (@FCBayernEN) March 24, 2023
Hasan Salihamidžić: "I am very grateful to Julian for what he has done for FC Bayern and I wish him all the best." pic.twitter.com/j9Pq1yq2GL
"We were convinced we would work with him [Nagelsmann] on a long-term basis – and that was the goal of all of us right up to the end," Kahn wrote in a statement on Friday.
"Julian shares our aspiration to play successful and attractive football. But now we have come to the conclusion that the quality in our squad – despite the Bundesliga title last year – has come to the fore less and less often.
"After the World Cup we have played less successfully and less attractively. The big fluctuations in performance have cast doubt on our goals for this season, but also our goals for the future.
"That is why we have acted now. Personally and on behalf of FC Bayern, I would like to thank Julian and his coaching team, and wish everyone the best of luck for the future."
Julian Nagelsmann is still regarded as one of the top managers in the world and is currently rumoured to be in considering by Tottenham as Antonio Conte's replacement. The former RB Leipzig manager leaves Bayern with a 71.4% winning percentage. He managed 60 wins of the 84 games he supervised at the club, drew 14 times, and lost only 10. He has also won one Bundesliga championship and two German Super Cups.