Bayern Munich honorary president Uli Hoeneß has sharply criticized TV pundit Lothar Matthäus, holding him personally responsible for the collapse of striker Nick Woltemade's transfer. According to Hoeneß, Matthäus's public comments caused serious damage to the negotiation process. This is reported by Goal.com reports .
In an interview with Der Spiegel, Hoeneß stated: "Regarding Matthäus's comments on Woltemade, we wanted to sign him for 50 million euros and were confident. But then Matthäus went to the newspapers and said the player was worth at least 60–80 million euros." Bayern had been very close to securing the versatile forward.
It turns out the German national team member had already agreed to join the Munich club. However, Matthäus's interference put VfB Stuttgart in a difficult position. Hoeneß noted that after the hype surrounding the transfer fee, the Stuttgart board was under public pressure and lost the opportunity to sell the player for a lower price.
In his interview, Hoeneß said he does not want to limit freedom of speech, but that such statements hinder transfer negotiations. "He must stop using his position to harm Bayern Munich," the club official added regarding his former player.
As a reminder, Nick Woltemade eventually moved to Newcastle United for 75 million euros. Although the start of the season in England looked promising, reports are now circulating about disagreements between the player and manager Eddie Howe.
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