Kimmich and Goretzka rebel at Bayern amid club chaos

It seems as though Julian Nagelsmann’s dismissal at Bayern Munich hasn’t gone down too well with some of the club’s big hitters. Bayern’s German players were questioned after the end of the international game against Peru and while Kimmich and Goretzka tried their very best to be diplomatic about the delicate situation, they could not help but fire a few shots aimed towards those highest up in the club.

“Absolutely not”, said Kimmich when asked by a ZDF journalist whether or not Nagselsmann had lost the dressing room. “It happened because we didn’t win enough games and we didn’t have enough success. Of course, we are still fighting in all competitions. However, it was seen that we weren’t performing well enough, above all in the league. We have only won 5 out of the last 10 games. But the coach hadn’t lost the dressing room. I’ve been through various managerial changes but it’s not like we saw this one coming because we weren’t happy”, he explained.

Goretzka does not want to go against his employers

Leon Goretzka, Kimmich’s centre-midfield partner, added: “I’d be unwise to go against my boss. Personally, I can only say that between me and Julian there was no bad blood. I don’t know if that was the case with other players but it’s clear that it’s a shock for everyone to go from having someone there one day to them being gone the next.”

Both players, with the weight they carry in the squad, have raised their voices to make their opinions known on the matter, showing the time bomb that is in the squad at this moment. Hasan Salihamidzic, Bayern’s sporting director, took the focus away from the players in an interview with Sport1, but not before firing back himself, saying “of course it was a difficult decision because we had a good relationship with Julian. If you ask them (Kimmich and Goretzka), whether or not we had a top level squad and coach they would say ‘yes’, but the performance levels weren’t there. The performances were inadequate. They know that.”

“Was there a lack of leadership with Nagelsmann? That was his style.”

The Munich boss confirmed to Sport1 that there had been problems regarding the coach. “Was there a lack of leadership with Nagelsmann? That was his style. Of course there were problems, we had some disciplinary issues. I know the decision is not popular but it was a decision that, as Bayern Munich, we had to take. We can’t change the whole team. We had a top coach but the performance levels weren’t what we wanted. Julian is disappointed, and so am I. But we have to do our job, to react. We need a couple of months. We won’t sit down to talk, for sure. The important thing for me is to be able to look each other in the eyes.”