Hansi Flick has informed Bayern Munich that he wants to leave the club at the end of the season. The 56-year-old is reported to be the favorite to succeed Joachim Löw as German national team coach.
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Bayern Munich head coach Hansi Flick has confirmed that he wants to leave the club and has asked to be released from his contract at the end of the season.
"I would like to be released out of my contract at the end of the season," he told Sky Deutschland. "We have had two fantastic years. I am delighted with my team and I am grateful to the club for being allowed to train such a team.
"It was important to me that the players find out from me, since there were lots of rumors swirling around," he added.
Captain and goalkeeper Manuel Neuer said it was "an emotional moment for us all" but said the team "will just have to process it."
Midfielder Thomas Müller added: "He has spent a huge amount of energy over the last one-and-a-half years. You need to have a thick skin to be Bayern coach, it's been an intense time. Not that he has given a reason. He doesn't need to give us a reason."
Despite leading Bayern to a sextuplet of Bundesliga, German Cup, Champions League, German Super Cup, UEFA Super Cup and FIFA World Club Cup after taking over from Niko Kovac in November 2019, and despite Saturday's victory putting Bayern seven points clear of RB Leipzig and on course for a ninth consecutive league title, rumors have been circulating for months that all is not well behind the scenes.
Flick's relationship with sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic said to be strained due to disagreements over transfer policy and squad planning. The dispute reached a head recently when Flick told Salihamidzic to "just shut up" on the team bus ahead of a game.
Flick was Joachim Löw's assistant with the Germany national team between 2006 and 2014.Image: Getty Images
German national team?
Flick's next destination is unclear but, ever since Joachim Löw confirmed that he would be stepping down as German national team coach after this summer's European Championship, the favorite to succeed him has been his former World Cup winning assistant.
"My future is absolutely not clear," insisted Flick. "Of course the national team is an option every coach has to consider. I have to digest everything, the last few weeks weren't easy."
Bayern chief executive Karl-Heinz Rummenigge had previously insisted that "it is a fact" that Flick would be remaining at the club next season.
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Who will replace Flick?
As for Flick's replacement at Bayern Munich, sporting director Salihamidzic has previously stated his admiration for RB Leipzig coach Julian Nagelsmann, although the 33-year-old has a contract with the Red Bull club until 2023.
Jesse Marsch of RB's sister club in Salzburg is also highly-rated, but the inexperienced American would be more likely to move up the Red Bull pecking order to Leipzig were Nagelsmann to leave.
Pep Guardiola aside, Bayern have tended to prefer German or German-speaking coaches, which would rule out Jose Mourinho, were things at Tottenham to deteriorate further, but could lead to speculation regarding Ralph Hasenhüttl of Southampton or Jürgen Klopp of Liverpool.
After winning the Champions League and Premier League with Liverpool, Klopp and his team are currently struggling. Could the former Borussia Dortmund coach be tempted by a move to Munich? Another former Dortmund coach, Thomas Tuchel, has only just taken over at Chelsea, ruling him out.
But perhaps the biggest changes at Bayern won't be on the bench, but in the boardroom. Long-serving club president Uli Hoeness has already stepped down and been replaced by Herbert Hainer, while former goalkeeper Oliver Kahn is primed to take over from Karl-Heinz Rummenigge as chief executive in January.
Sporting director has profited most from this changing of the guard, and has the final say on transfer policy and squad building - but some of his recent signings have underwhelmed, contributing to the dispute with Flick.
Bayern Munich in 2020: A defining year
Bayern Munich swept all before them this year, winning five trophies and setting countless new records along the way — all within Hansi Flick's first year as head coach. Here's a look back at some of the highlights.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/R. Wittek
Thiago’s masterclass in Mainz
On February 1, on a damp and cold day in Mainz, we really started to see Bayern flex their muscles under Hansi Flick for the first time. A 3-1 win at Mainz is routine business for Bayern, but it was a victory that not only saw them return to the top of the Bundesliga for the first time since Niko Kovac’s stormy reign, but one that delivered a superb goal by Thiago Alcantara.
Image: Getty Images/Bongarts/A. Grimm
Hopp, skip and a leap
Bayern showed their extra quality on the extra day of the year. February 29 was the day that Bayern leapt ahead of their title rivals with a 6-0 thrashing of Hoffenheim. But the game is remembered more for the protests of Bayern’s ultras against Hoffenheim owner Dietmar Hopp, which led to the players first leaving the pitch then playing the match out at a walking pace.
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Auf wiedersehen to fans
Bayern’s last game in front of fans was on March 8, coinciding with Bayern’s 120th anniversary. A massive tifo spanned the Allianz Arena as Bayern marked the occasion with a special kit and, of course, a 2-0 win to extend their Bundesliga lead. Little did anyone know that this would be last time Bayern would play in front of a full house for a very long time.
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Kimmich's Klassiker
After an 11-week hiatus, the Bundesliga was the first of Europe’s top leagues to return following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Bayern returned with a 2-0 win at Union Berlin before heading to Dortmund a week later on May 26 for a decisive Klassiker. Bayern’s class shone through, with Joshua Kimmich’s majestic chip the only goal of a high quality game and effectively the title decider.
Image: AFP/F. Gambarini
Eight straight
On June 16, Bayern traveled to Werder Bremen with the chance to seal their eighth straight Bundesliga title. Bremen were fighting for Bundesliga survival at the time and made it hard for Bayern, but there was no holding them down. Bayern won 1-0 courtesy of Robert Lewandowski to secure their 30th German title and the first silverware of Hansi Flick’s Bayern reign.
Image: picture-alliance/GES/POOL/M. Ibo GüngürL
Double delight
Less than three weeks after winning the Bundesliga, Bayern did the job in the German Cup final too. Attack-minded Bayer Leverkusen headed to Berlin with high hopes, but they couldn’t match Bayern’s scintillating display. David Alaba’s deftly flighted free-kick set the tone for Bayern, with Serge Gnabry and a Robert Lewandowski double securing a 4-2 win and a second title in quick succession.
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Barca bloodbath
With a domestic double wrapped up, Bayern shifted their focus to the Champions League. Having dealt with Chelsea, Bayern arrived in Portugal for a one-legged knockout format of the competition. They faced Barcelona in the quarterfinals and blew them away 8-2. It was the first time since 1946 that Barca had conceded eight and a scoreline that would send shockwaves around Europe.
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Kings of Europe
Paris Saint-Germain, the new-money stars of French football, met Bayern Munich, the German aristocrats, in club football’s biggest game on August 23. Many expected a goal feast but instead it was a high quality game of chess settled by a solitary goal. Kingsley Coman, the former PSG player raised in the suburbs of Paris, scored it for Bayern to reclaim their European crown and secure the treble.
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Quadruple
A treble wasn’t enough for Bayern though. After a short break following the late completion of the season, they faced Sevilla, winners of the Europa League, in the UEFA Super Cup in Budapest on September 24. Javi Martinez was Bayern's unlikely extra-time hero but thousands of Bayern fans declined to travel, with Budapest grappling with sharply rising COVID cases at the time.
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23, the magic number
The victory in Budapest was also notable for being Bayern's 23rd straight victory, a new record in European football. They beat the previous record of 22, held by Carlo Ancelotti’s Real Madrid since 2014, but couldn't build on that, succumbing to a surprise 4-1 defeat at Hoffenheim a few days later. However, they amassed a staggering 78 goals during the run, conceding just 16 with 12 clean sheets.
Image: Reuters/A. Hilse
Make that five
Just in case there was any doubt that Bayern were the best team around, Bayern followed up their UEFA Super Cup win less than a week later with victory in the German equivalent. Dortmund were Bayern’s challengers at the Allianz Arena but the Black and Yellows, despite putting up a good fight, lost 3-2. And it was their familiar foe Joshua Kimmich, who delivered the late winning goal.
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King Lewa
It was another vintage year for Robert Lewandowski. Bayern’s number 9 ended the 2019-20 season with 34 goals, more than anyone in any of Europe’s big five leagues. He also scored 15 in the Champions League, five more than anyone else, and started the new Bundesliga season with 10 goals in his first 5 games — also a record. He was named FIFA Best Men's Player, too.
Image: Marco Donato/FC Bayern/Getty Images/picture alliance
The Flick Effect
Less than a year into the job, Bayern head coach Hansi Flick could bask in the glory of an unprecedented haul of five trophies. The Bundesliga, the German Cup, the Champions League, the UEFA Super Cup, the German Supercup: everything his heart desired. An unparalleled achievement and the best coaching debut season in football history.
