Bayern Munich head coach Thomas Tuchel has pushed back against criticism from the club's honorary president, Uli Hoeness.
Tuchel's side will face Real Madrid in the first leg of the Champions League semi-final on Tuesday, but preparations for the game have been dominated by Hoeness's claim that Tuchel has no ability or desire to improve the player and only wants new signings. Hoeness's criticism comes after nearly 20,000 fans signed a petition urging Tuchel to stay at the club after the end of the season, which seemed impossible after the recent war of words.
"As a coach, this deeply offends me," Tuchel said in response to Hoeness's comments. 'If there's anything we've proven in the coaching staff over the last 15 years, it's that the young players – especially the players from the academy – always have a place in training, through performance, on the pitch.
"By the way, we've proven it now! I don't know much about it. I don't think it's groundless!"!"In fact, this is so far from reality that I wouldn't have reacted to it at all if it weren't for Uli. In fact, before Real Madrid, the news from our boss gave it a different flavor. ”
The kicker contacted Hoeness for a response to Tuchel's reply, with the Bayern honorary president refusing to budge. Hoeness reportedly insisted the feud had been "exaggerated by the media", but he again stuck to his rhetoric and insisted Tuchel was more interested in signing players than developing his current squad.
Hoeness later added that he was "determined to make his point clear again." Amid this turmoil, Bayern are hoping to bring in Austria manager Ralph Rangnick to replace Tuchel at the end of the season.