Bayern Munich legend Uli Hoeneß made himself available to the media and, of course, delivered one scorching hot take after another.
Hoeneß, though, did offers some key insight into a player he would like to see at Bayern Munich — Bayern Leverkusen ace Florian Wirtz. While Hoeneß made no secret of his desire to acquire Wirtz, he does worry that the youngster and Jamal Musiala might have too much pressure put upon them.
“I’m a fan of Jamal Musiala and Florian Wirtz. We all know that I would love to see Wirtz at Bayern. But I think the hype surrounding them is wrong. Under this pressures, they cannot develop as they should. I think it’s madness to compare Jamal with (Diego) Maradona. This does young players no favors. There’s no doubt that they can get to that level. But I think it’s a huge mistake to put them under so much pressure now,” Hoeneß told Bild (as captured by @iMiaSanMia).
Such is the modern game. Musiala, whose contract runs through 2026 is a summer away from being bombarded with lucrative offers from top-tier clubs. Wirtz, who was Bayer Leverkusen’s best player during the club’s miraculous run last season, could be in the same boat despite his deal not ending until 2027.
As far as the comments on Wirtz go, Hoeneß is likely doing some minor damage control on a story detailing how he vetoed a move or Wirtz already just in case there was any ill will built up from that period.
Regardless, the pressure to not just perform, but to dominate will be on both players this season. Will they be able to handle it?
Looking for more thoughts and analysis on Bayern Munich’s roller coaster ride of a transfer window, plus what the plans might be for Joshua Kimmich and Leon Goretzka moving forward? What about something that fans should positive about? Good, then we have you covered with the Bavarian Podcast Works — Weekend Warm-up Show, where we hit on all of that and more! You can get the podcast on Patreon, Spotify, or below: