Manuel Neuer no longer acceptable as Bayern Munich captain – Lothar Matthaus

Lothar Matthaus has torn into Manuel Neuer and said the goalkeeper no longer deserves to be Bayern Munich captain. 

Neuer caused a stir in Bavaria when he publicly questioned the ‘crazy’ sacking of long-term goalkeeping coach Toni Tapalovic in January. 

Tapalovic had been Bayern’s goalkeeper coach since 2011 and was previously a team-mate of Neuer’s at Schalke – but Matthaus has taken a dim view of the unauthorised interview and thinks a change of captain is now necessary.

‘Manuel Neuer is no longer acceptable as Bayern captain!’ Matthaus wrote in his column for Sky Sports Germany. 

‘He skied negligently and is now giving an unauthorised interview in which he vehemently attacks the club . Hadn’t he said a few weeks ago that no one was above the club? And now this.’

Manuel Neuer (left) publicly criticised Bayern Munich’s decision to dismiss long-time goalkeeping coach Toni Tapalovic’s (right), saying it ‘felt like my heart was being ripped out’

Bayern sacked goalkeeper coach Tapalovic for leaking internal chats to the club’s players

Lothar Matthaus says Neuer is no longer a suitable Bayern Munich captain after his remarks

The skiing incident Matthaus refers to saw Neuer left with a fractured tibia and fibula following the accident on December 9. 

While he added that Neuer did Bayern a ‘disservice’ with the skiing accident that has the German champions without him ‘maybe even forever’, it was the tone of Neuer’s interview which irked Matthaus.

Neuer told the Athletic that Tapalovic’s sacking ‘felt like my heart was being ripped out. It was the most brutal thing I’ve experienced in my career.’

Tapalovic was sacked last month after Bayern boss Julian Nagelsmann discovered that he had leaked internal chats to players.   

‘What bothered me a lot about Manuel’s interview is the exaggerated choice of words,’ Matthaus continued. 

‘His heart was torn out. With all understanding: no one died, no child is seriously ill, it is the separation of an employee to whom he was very close.’

The interview, which was also savaged by Oliver Kahn, was dimly viewed upon by Bayern manager Julian Nagelsmann.

Bayern snapped a three-game winless run in Sunday’s 4-2 win over Wolfsburg on Sunday and Nagelsmann is eager to limit off-pitch distractions – which hasn’t been helped by Neuer.  

Neuer fractured his tibia and fibula following a skiing accident after Germany’s World Cup exit

Bayern boss Julian Nagelsmann was also unimpressed by Neuer’s decision to speak out

‘I wouldn’t have given the interview,’ Nagelsmann bluntly told DAZN.

‘We have important weeks ahead. It doesn’t help calm things down. 

‘Oliver Kahn made a very, very good statement. Some time ago I had a good conversation with Manuel in private, where we discussed many things.

‘I told him the reasons why the separation happened, I didn’t want to make it public, which was the right decision in my opinion. My doors are always open, even though I would have chosen a different path [than the interview].’

Yann Sommer has been signed to cover for Neuer’s extended absence on the sidelines and Kahn, Bayern’s CEO, did not hold back when savaging the timing of Neuer’s remarks with the club locked in a rare battle for the title. 

‘What Manuel said in parts of these two interviews in connection with Toni Tapalovic’s release does neither do justice to him as captain nor to the values ​​of FC Bayern,’ Kahn told the German Press Agency. 

‘In addition, his statements are untimely because we are facing very important games.’

Bayern are currently top of the Bundesliga by a single point, ahead of Union Berlin and three points ahead of Borussia Dortmund after 19 games played.