By Alex Richards
After missing out on Liverpool new boy Florian Wirtz, Bayern Munich need to step into the real world when it comes to transfers. That’s the view of Germany legend Lothar Matthaus, who has let rip at his former club in his latest war of words with Bayern’s honorary president, Uli Hoeness. The German champions lost out in the battle to sign Wirtz last month, after failing to cut a deal with Bayer Leverkusen. Their use of the media over the past 12 months to try and strong-arm a deal out of Bayer and lower the price didn’t sit well with the Wirtz family, for whom a final meeting with Bayern bosses – including head coach Vincent Kompany – was the last straw. When a lack of clarity over his role in the team was presented, it was a stark contrast to what Liverpool boss Arne Slot showed, and added to their unhappiness’ at Bayern’s public proclamations across the previous year, Wirtz elected to move to the Premier League and Anfield. Bayern for so long felt the player was in the bag, but got things very, very wrong. Now, they’re trying to tread a similar path to land Stuttgart hotshot Nick Woltemade. Amid claims of an agreement between Bayern and the player, Die Roten are going public once more, admitting they won’t go near Stuttgart’s 拢68m-plus price tag, and that a more acceptable fee needs to be found. Duly, it was reported Bayern would prefer to pay 拢50m. That led former star Matthaus to declare their valuation of Woltemade was “too low”. Pretty tepid in truth – only Hoeness subsequently declared that the former Germany captain had “lost his mind”. He added: “I鈥檝e been fed up with these so-called experts for some time. With remarks like these, Matth盲us is putting pressure, especially on Stuttgart. Ultimately, the club will look like the loser if the transfer fee comes in lower.” Unsurprisingly, Matthaus didn’t take Hoeness’ comments lying down and issued his own response in BILD . He declared Hoeness “lives in his own world” and used Bayern’s failure to land Wirtz – and the 拢116m fee Liverpool could eventually pay – to make his point. “I have to say that I鈥檓 used to Uli Hoeness’ insults and I don鈥檛 take them seriously anymore. He鈥檚 been doing that for 20, 25 years,” said Matthaus. “I don鈥檛 let it get to me; that makes you thick-skinned. Uli Hoeness still lives in his own world and still hasn鈥檛 understood that not only football, but also the business has evolved. “I鈥檓 aware of what鈥檚 going on in the market. I mentioned 鈧80-100m as a possible price [for Woltemade], but Uli Hoene脽 apparently didn鈥檛 read it up properly again. 鈥淗e鈥檚 only interested in attacking other people to distract from his own mistakes. I know the market, both domestically and internationally. And I still believe this assessment is correct. [Jamie] Gittens cost around 鈧60million [to Chelsea ] and isn鈥檛 even an international player, and he鈥檚 also had a worse season [than Woltemade]. “I predicted for Florian Wirtz many months ago that the total package would amount to 鈧250m 鈥 and that鈥檚 what happened. These simply are the numbers nowadays. 鈥淎t FC Bayern, things are only seen from one side. When I think of Jamal Musiala: Bayern would want much more for him than, for example, Wirtz cost. Bayern would want 鈧180m. So why can鈥檛 Wirtz cost 鈧150m or Woltemade 鈧80-100m? “Uli Hoeness lives in his own world. He may no longer be up to date with the transfer market. Bayern Munich wants a player who now has that market. As a reminder: FC Bayern already spent 鈧80m on Lucas Hern谩ndez in 2019. “Hoeness should investigate internally: Why didn鈥檛 FC Bayern and their scouts discover Woltemade earlier, why did they only become aware of him now? With Woltemade, the VfB management did a much better job. Instead, FC Bayern brought in Joao Palhinha for 鈧50m, who has so far only been a backup player, barely playing even in unimportant games. These are the problems Hoene脽 should be addressing.鈥 On the subject of 22-year-old Wirtz, Matthaus admits he’s intrigued by the “big challenge” he’s taken in moving to England – and is clearly impressed by the Kop new boy’s decision. “Personally, I also thought Florian would want to stay in Germany for the next few years. He’s taking on a big challenge. It’s not just a new club: it’s a new mentality, a new language,” Matthaus said. “But this step also shows that he’s not afraid. Florian Wirtz believes in himself 100 per cent 鈥 and rightly so: I have absolute confidence in him that he’ll make it at Liverpool and in the Premier League. “He doesn’t have to hide from anyone. A year before the World Cup, the move is also a risk, a leap into the unknown 鈥 but his friends and family will certainly support him very well.” Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.