The agent of former Bayern Munich player Juan Bernat has publicly condemned the harsh comments made by Uli Hoeness in Friday’s press conference.
It was a strange but eventful day in Bayern Munich’s press room on Friday. The usual pre-match press conference from Niko Kovac took place ahead of a surprise conference held by club CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, President Uli Hoeness and sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic, in which Bayern’s executive duo took aim at the German media.
Rummenigge and Hoeness slammed outlets such as Bild for criticizing the Bayern players during the international break. Moreover, they dismissed the reports of players falling out with coach Niko Kovac and blasted the media for creating such false reports.
In response to claims that Bayern’s lack of depth at full-back was due to poor planning, Hoeness took a massive dig at former Bayern left-back Juan Bernat. He called out the Spaniard for his mistake against Sevilla in last year’s Champions League quarterfinals, which was the only reason Bayern were nearly eliminated according to Hoeness. Evidently, that was the day the Bayern bossed decided to sell the defender.
Bernat’s agent quickly spoke to the media to defend his client on Friday. Speaking to Goal, Vicente Fores branded these comments as ridiculous and toxic.
"“The statements of Mr Hoeness are very infelicitous.“Juan Bernat only has words of gratitude for this big club, but I would like to ask Mr Hoeness what he’s thinking when he makes such statements. A few months ago he was the one who wanted to extend the player’s contract for five more years”"
More from Bayern Strikes
- Bayern Munich: Tactical takeaways from 2-2 draw against Bayer Leverkusen
- Bayern Munich: Kingsley Coman set to be fit for Manchester United clash
- Bayern Munich unlikely to move for Trevoh Chalobah in January
- Bayern Munich: Key lessons from draw against Bayer Leverkusen
- Bayern Munich remains keen on hiring Max Eberl
Bernat arrived at Bayern in 2014 from Valencia. The Spaniard enjoyed a brilliant debut season under Pep Guardiola, who used him at both left wing and left-back. Bernat quickly adapted to Guardiola’s methods and featured regularly in the starting lineup throughout the season.
After a perfect debut season in Bavaria, Bernat struggled for gametime in the remaining three years of his stay at the club. He found himself heavily out of favor under Carlo Ancelotti and struggled with a serious injury last season. His performances in his limited opportunities justified Ancelotti’s decision to not use him regularly.
Jupp Heynckes also used Bernat sporadically during his interim tenure at the club. It was quite evident that Bernat’s time at the club was coming to an end.
Hasan Salihamidizic admitted at the start of the summer transfer window that Bayern were looking to sell Bernat. After much speculation about his future, Bernat eventually sealed a move to Paris-Saint Germain on the final day of the transfer window. Bayern opted not to replace him with a new player, which quickly came back to haunt them when both Rafinha and David Alaba picked up injuries.
Friday’s attempt from the Bayern hierarchy to defend their club was a bit of an embarrassment. They are one of the biggest clubs in the world, and their poor performances are always going to be amplified in the media. They gave a passionate defense of their players — claiming that the media must treat them with respect — then ironically belittled a former player for a performance which took place last season. The media does have a tendency to go overboard with their reports, but Bayern’s approach to tackle the issue was pretty appalling.