While it’s become custom for fans to demand the sacking of a football manager on social media after a bad game, something very different is happening at Bayern Munich.
Hansi Flick, one of Bayern’s most successful coaches, has told the club that he wants to leave at the end of the season.
Since 2019, Flick has gone from assistant coach to interim manager to head coach at Bayern Munich, helping them win their first sextuple earlier this year – six trophies in a single season.
The sudden announcement came on Saturday that Flick is no longer committed to staying with Bayern, who recently exited the Champions League quarterfinals at the hands of Paris St-Germain in an ironic twist to last season’s Champions League final, which they won after beating PSG.
“It was important for me to tell the team, because we have worked together successfully for almost two years now,” said Flick.
He initially joined as assistant to Niko Kovac in 2019 and became interim coach when Kovac was booted. His contract as head coach, extended this time last year, was meant to continue until June 2023, however Flick has decided he wants out early.
“I told the team today that I informed the club during the week that I wanted to get out of my contract at the end of the season,” he told Sky Sports.
Rumours are swirling around Flick taking over for Joachim Loew as Germany manager, but Flick has denied that that is the reason for his desire to prematurely depart.
“The future is absolutely not clear. There has been no discussions regarding that,” he said.
“Obviously the [German] FA is an option which every coach has to think about. But this is independent of that. I decided to take this step.”
