Bayern Munich’s attempts to sell experienced veteran Leon Goretzka over the past year have been far from subtle. Former head coach Thomas Tuchel was heavily rumored to desire a different type of player in Goretzka’s position. Even after Tuchel’s departure, the club looked to sell the Germany international and made it official, leaving Goretzka out of match day squads and openly confirming the desire to see him leave.
Goretzka stayed, however, and eventually won back an important role in the squad.
Speaking about it after winning his sport back under new head coach Vincent Kompany, as captured by @iMiaSanMia, Goretzka dismissed the situation as best he could.
“I don’t know if that was ever officially confirmed. But it’s true, it was a tough time. I managed quite well to push it back and act professionally. I didn’t and don’t want to comment much on the speculation. My mission was always to do the best for the club. It wouldn’t have contributed to our success if I had commented on these things,” Goretzka said.
Still, Bayern’s desire to offload Goretzka had been very official, with supervisory board member Karl-Heinz Rummenigge confirming Tuchel’s desire to see the former VFL Bochum youth player leave and board member for sport Max Eberl expressing it would be “difficult” for Goretzka is he stayed in Munich. Upon getting told this by the reporter, Goretzka said this:
“In the end, you have to look at the facts: When it became clear that I wouldn’t be going to the EUROs, Thomas Tuchel approached me,” Goretzka revealed, as captured by @iMiaSanMia. “And he praised me for having an outstanding season. I played 44 competitive matches and, after Harry Kane, I was our team’s top scorer in the second half of the season . Although I didn’t have an easy time under Tuchel, he played me in 44 games. And I also played a lot under Vincent Kompany.”
Ultimately, Goretzka has persevered. One just has to wonder if that perseverance will last past the expiration of his contract in 2026.
Check out the latest edition of the Bavarian Podcast Works Show where we hit these topics:
- Luis Díaz has arrived in Munich, passed his physical, and signed his deal. A new era begins...
- Will Vincent Kompany hand Díaz the job or will he have to battle Serge Gnabry and Kingsley Coman?
- Is there any chance that Coman or Gnabry get sold this summer?
- Why Paul Wanner, Aleksandar Pavlović, and Josip Stanišić need to win the preseason.
- A mini-rant on João Félix.
- Tottenham Hotspur could be ready to pay €52 million for João Palhinha.
You can get the show on Patreon, Acast, Spotify, any leading podcast distributor, or below:
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