Bayern unhappy with Flick’s declaration he wants to quit

AP Published 2:58 p.m. ET April 18, 2021

BERLIN (AP) — Bayern Munich’s board of management “disapproves” of coach Hansi Flick’s decision to publicize his wish to leave the club at the end of the season.

The Bundesliga giant reacted following Flick’s announcement after his team’s win at Wolfsburg on Saturday that he does not want to fulfill his contact, which runs to 2023.

“Hansi Flick informed the board of FC Bayern Munich AG over the course of last week. Hansi Flick and FC Bayern agreed to keep the focus on the games against Wolfsburg, Bayer Leverkusen (Tuesday) and Mainz (April 24), in order not to disturb the concentration of the whole club on these three important games,” Bayern said Sunday in a statement on behalf of the board.

“FC Bayern disapproves of the one-sided communication from Hansi Flick and will continue the talks after the game in Mainz as agreed.”

The club did not elaborate any further.

Flick first told Sky Sports Germany of his decision to leave after Bayern’s 3-2 win in Wolfsburg opened a seven-point lead in the Bundesliga. He said he had already informed the team of his wish.

“It was important that the team heard it from me,” said Flick, whose side was knocked out of the Champions League by Paris Saint-Germain in the quarterfinals on Tuesday.

Bayern was already out of the German Cup, leaving just the Bundesliga left to win this season.

Flick was appointed initially on an interim basis as Niko Kovač’s successor when Kovač was fired in November 2019. Flick led Bayern to a Bundesliga, German Cup and Champions League treble in his first season in charge.

But this season has been marked by disagreements with sporting director Hasan Salihamidžić. Flick’s requested reinforcements failed to arrive. New arrivals like Álvaro Odriozola, Marc Roca, Douglas Costa and Bouna Sarr have all barely played under Flick.

The 56-year-old Flick has been linked with the Germany national team job, which will be vacant once his former boss Joachim Löw steps down after the summer’s European Championship. Flick was Löw’s assistant from 2006 to 2014.

Flick on Saturday thanked Bayern chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, club president Herbert Hainer, and former president Uli Hoeneß for trusting him with the job in November 2019. He made no mention of Salihamidžić, or Oliver Kahn, who is set to take over from Rummenigge in 2022.

“There was no other way to solve it,” former Bayern and Germany great Lothar Matthäus said. “He often made calls for help. Nobody listened to him.”

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Ciarán Fahey on Twitter: https://twitter.com/cfaheyAP