Bayern annoyed by 'non-factual' criticism on coach Tuchel

Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich on Monday hit out at critics of statements their coach Thomas Tuchel made the previous day on possibly coaching outside Germany again in the future.

A joint statement from Bayern CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen and sporting director Christoph Freund said that Tuchel "was asked by supporters on Sunday as part of a fan club visit about his coaching career and his previous experiences abroad at Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea, and naturally provided information about this during the discussion.

"He also answered general questions from fans about Spain as a footballing country.

"He never spoke about Xavi Hernández and his successor, as was falsely claimed afterwards. We will no longer accept such non-factual statements directed against our coach, which always come from the same source.”

Former Bayern and Germany player Dietmar Hamann had criticsed Tuchel's statements late Sunday on Sky TV where he is a pundit.

"Then he sits there and talks about Xavi, about the succession and that he would like to train in Barcelona or Spain. That's cheeky," Hamann said.

"He's a very intelligent man, he doesn't just slip out like that. But he needs to know one thing: If you're an employee of FC Bayern, messing with the management was rarely a good idea."

Former Bundesliga manager Heribert Bruchhagen was also critical, saying Tuchel should have been aware of a possible backlash the day after Xavi announced he would leave as Barcelona coach in summer.

"He also needs to know what the consequences are. I would have expected him to answer: "At the moment, I'm focussing exclusively on FC Bayern," Bruchhagen said.

Tuchel had said on Sunday: "I would definitely be interested in working abroad again, in general," naming Spain's La Liga "extraordinary.

"When you speak to Spanish players, you have the feeling that you are talking to people very soon and there are no empty phrases in between and no invisible wall," he said.