Munich, Oct. 8, (dpa/GNA) – Bayern Munich coach Thomas Tuchel has confirmed that Jérôme Boateng’s possible return to the club was partly stopped because of his court case.
The 35-year-old, who spent 10 years at Bayern, is a free agent having left Olympique Lyon. But the former Germany defender is facing a new criminal trial in Bavaria after being accused of assaulting his then partner and mother of his children on holiday in 2018. A previous verdict against Boateng was overturned.
“We analysed the situation, the overall situation with Jérôme, which is not just about sport, unfortunately,” Tuchel told DAZN on Sunday.
Bayern have been criticized for considering a return for Boateng, including women’s rights organization Terre des Femmes.
Bayern sporting director Christoph Freund said: “Domestic violence or violence against anyone else, or against children… are not to be tolerated. There is no acceptance.”
Earlier, Bayern chief executive Jan-Christian Dreesen said the club plan to extend veteran forward Thomas Müller’s contract beyond this season.
The 34-year-old’s deal, like that of injured goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, expires at the end of the campaign.
“I am actually optimistic. And we have good reason to have Thomas with us for a long time,” Dreesen told Bild TV.
He also said Neuer should be playing again soon after recovering from his broken leg.
“Manuel is on the right path,” Dreesen said, adding that his comeback after the upcoming international break is “not that far away.”
Defender Matthijs de Ligt might also be fit in two weeks after his knee injury was less serious than feared, Dreesen said. His recovery is one of the other reasons Bayern decided not to re-sign free agent Boateng.
Another person not joining Bayern – at least in the near term – is Max Eberl. He surprisingly left as managing director of RB Leipzig last month and has long been linked with Bayern, even though they only appointed Freund in the close season.
“The appointment of board members, including the sporting director, is a matter for the supervisory board,” Dreesen said, remarking that the chairman of the board would have to be involved in such a matter. “That has not happened so far.”
Someone Bayern are keeping tabs on is VfB Stuttgart coach Sebastian Hoeneß, whose side have made a flying start to the season. He led Bayern’s reserves to the third-tier title in 2020.
“In the long term, you can never rule something like that out,” said Dreesen, before calling current boss Tuchel a “top coach.”
GNA