Matthijs de Ligt was taken aback by Bayern Munich’s decision to replace Julian Nagelsmann with Thomas Tuchel last week
Matthijs de Ligt, who plays as a center-back for Bayern Munich, has expressed surprise over the club’s decision to replace head coach Julian Nagelsmann with Thomas Tuchel.
De Ligt found it difficult to accept the news and said it has been tough to come to terms with it.
De Ligt opens up about Bayern’s ‘difficult decision’ of letting Nagelsmann go
Nagelsmann won the Bundesliga in his only full season at Bayern, but the club is currently one point behind Borussia Dortmund after playing 25 games of this campaign.
Bayern has upcoming matches against Dortmund, as well as DFB-Pokal and Champions League quarter-final ties in April. De Ligt did not expect Nagelsmann’s sacking, especially given Bayern’s pursuit of a treble.
“I was surprised,” he told Dutch TV broadcaster NOS. “We’re second in the league and in the quarter-finals of the cups. We’re still playing for everything.
“Those in charge decide who the coach is, but it was a difficult decision that is hard to swallow. But I also believe that Tuchel is a coach who suits us.”
The German media reported that some Bayern players turned against Nagelsmann and pushed him out of the Allianz Arena.
However, De Ligt, who joined Bayern from Juventus at the beginning of the season and has played 31 times, denied those claims.
“Oh, the German media. That says it all,” he said. “I had a good relationship with him and his team.
“I sent him a message and thanked him for everything he taught me.
“He really wanted me here at the club and was very important to me.
“Thanks in part to him, I have taken important steps in my development over the past few months.”
