Matthäus and Müller pay tribute to German icon Beckenbauer

Lothar Matthäus, who captained Germany to the 1990 World Cup title, has hailed his then coach Franz Beckenbauer as "one of the greatest as a player and a coach, but off the pitch as well."

Beckenbauer's family said on Monday that the German football icon died the previous day at age 78, and Matthäus told the Bild: "The shock is deep, although I knew that Franz was not well,"

"His death is a loss for football and for the whole of Germany," German record-capped Matthäus said.

"Franz was an outstanding personality, not only in football, and he enjoyed worldwide recognition. Everyone who knew him knows what a great and generous person Franz was. A good friend has left us. I will miss him - we will all miss him!"

Bayern Munich veteran Thomas Müller said on X, formerly Twitter, of the club icon Beckenbauer: "One of the greatest footballers in the history of Bayern has unfortunately left us. Rest in peace, Kaiser Franz. We will never forget what you did for football in Germany."