Manuel Neuer: Oliver Kahn hits out at Bayern Munich captain for criticising the club over sacking Toni Tapalovic

Bayern Munich CEO Oliver Kahn has hit back at comments made by the club’s captain Manuel Neuer criticising their decision to sack goalkeeping coach Toni Tapalovic.

Tapalovic, a close friend and confidant of Neuer for over 11 years, had worked with the Germany goalkeeper since he was at Schalke, but he was sacked by the Bundesliga champions last month.

In a statement on January 23, Bayern said “differences about the way of working together have now led to us going our separate ways”.

In an interview released by The Athletic on Friday, the 36-year-old said: “That blow hit me extremely hard. I was told by the club officials. It came out of nowhere. For Toni, too. I didn’t understand that at all. It really knocked me down.

“Toni was always a team player with us, everyone saw it that way. He wasn’t working for me for eleven and a half years, but for the entire goalkeeper group, for the coaching staff and for the club. We were always able to separate work and private life.

“I understand that it might sound like I’m not being objective or not believable, but I can really tell the difference.”

He added: “For me, that was a blow — when I was already down on the ground. I felt like my heart was being ripped out. It was the most brutal thing I’ve experienced in my career. And I’ve experienced a lot.”

Kahn was not happy with Neuer’s public comments.

“What Manuel said in parts of these two interviews in connection with the release of Toni Tapalovic does not do justice to him as captain or to the values of FC Bayern,” he told Deutsche Presse-Agentur on Friday evening.

“Moreover, his statements come at an inopportune time because we are facing very important games.”

Asked about Neuer’s motives, Kahn said: “He is personally affected, you have to understand that to a certain extent. We were also aware of that when we explained to him that the decision on the question of the goalkeeper coach, which was not taken lightly, was the best thing for our team at that moment. I was faced with a similar situation as an international in 2004.

“Our goalkeeper coach Sepp Maier felt badly treated by the DFB and it came to a separation. I had worked with Sepp for years and we had a friendly and trusting relationship.

“I was also disappointed at the time, and I was angry with the DFB. But the common goals were in the foreground for me. They were more important to me than my personal feelings. And for that reason, I decided at the time not to speak out publicly. Manuel has now done the opposite.”

The 53-year-old said Bayern would have talks with the goalkeeper in the near future.

“We will talk to him about it very clearly,” he added.